“Prolific” team suspected in 17 bank robberies, 3 in West Seattle
Remember the Junction KeyBank robbery on August 5th? The FBI has just sent out a bulletin saying that robber – who has turned up on camera in several other recent robberies around the city – is believed to be half of a team blamed for 17 holdups in the past three months. Here’s the official “bulletin” flyer. FBI agent Frederick Gutt says, “If they are, in fact, responsible for each of these, it would make them the most prolific bank robbers in the Seattle area since 2006. The suspects should be considered armed and dangerous. We could use the public’s help with identifying them. Anyone with information regarding these suspects is asked to contact the FBI at (206)622-0460 or seattle.fbi@ic.fbi.gov.” 4:07 PM UPDATE: Reading through a spreadsheet that accompanied the news release – the same pair are suspected of two other West Seattle robberies – July 10th at Alaska USA in Westwood Village QFC, and July 15th at US Bank on Edmunds across from Jefferson Square. Here are the photos on the “bulletin” linked above:
Not shown in that montage, here’s the photo we got from the FBI after the July 10th Westwood Village robbery:
Here’s the FBI’s list of the 17 robberies they believe to be linked to this team.
“Nickelsville” encampment in West Seattle plans “open house”
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Though the Port of Seattle has said they expect the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” to be off port property (T-107 Park in West Seattle) by September 30th, organizers have announced an “open house” for just a few days before that: 3 pm September 26th. It’s in a statement published on their website last week; that’ll be a year to the day after police swept through their original location (also in West Seattle, on city-owned land; WSB coverage here). Port spokesperson Charla Skaggs tells WSB the deadline for them to clear out remains Sept. 30th, and says trespass notices restating that date were put up August 25th. The Nickelsville online update also mentions the death of an encampment resident; Skaggs says the cause of death remains under investigation, with a report expected from the Medical Examiner in about two weeks.
West Seattle road report #1: 16th SW paving progress
Just back from our interview with Jessica Murphy, who you might call the road-rebuilding/paving guru for SDOT. We arranged to speak with her regarding the Fauntleroy reconstruction/repaving/rechannelization project now that it’s almost over, and we’re writing that story next, but in the short run, we first asked how the 16th SW reconstruction north of South Seattle Community College is going, 6 weeks into the project. Answer: Going well, on schedule, “hoping to have final paving done before the fall quarter starts at SSCC,” Murphy told us – that’s September 29, according to the SSCC calendar. She says the section of 16th SW that’s being rebuilt between Brandon and Findlay is a “fully reconstructed full-depth asphalt road” – up to 10 inches of asphalt atop a crushed-rock base – wider, too, and SDOT has worked with Seattle Public Utilities to fix the drainage problems that were partly to blame for the road’s condition – standing water after rain, compounded by heavy bus usage. Here’s how part of that stretch of 16th looked on Google Street View BEFORE the reconstruction project:
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Fauntleroy report coming up.
Yes, your library branches are reopening today, as planned
The Seattle Public Library has sent a short announcement to remind you it’s back open (the Web site is already back to full speed) after the week-long budget-cut shutdown plus Labor Day:
All locations of The Seattle Public Library reopen today, Tuesday, Sept. 8, after a weeklong systemwide furlough. All services were shut down, including the Web site, and all book drops were locked.
The systemwide closure, along with other cuts, helped the Library meet a 2 percent budget reduction – about $1 million – this year. The closure saved approximately $655,000.
The closure meant salary reductions for about 700 employees who were not paid during the furlough week. An additional $350,000 in cuts – which included management and administration layoffs, extending the staff computer replacement schedule and reducing the training budget, have also been implemented.
All four West Seattle branches are open 1-8 pm today (here’s the page you can use to find any branch citywide). Meantime, the Friends of Seattle Public Library group is still collecting responses to its survey on the library system’s value, as part of its “Neighborhood Report” – if you haven’t already, you can join in here.
Life-saving freebie: Strobe smoke alarms from Seattle Fire Dept.
Kacy started her e-mail with an attention-grabbing line: “The Seattle Fire Department was here this morning.” She proceeded to clarify … “for a *good* reason.” 
Which it certainly was. She has a hearing-challenged child, and therefore qualified for a free smoke detector: “For the first time in his life, when my son is in bed without his hearing gear, is now aware that the smoke detector is going off. How cool is that?!” Smoke detectors that are “either strobe lights or shakers,” as Kacy explains it, are available through an SFD program that serves deaf/hard-of-hearing people within the Seattle city limits. Education coordinator Bill Mace invited Kacy to share that info with anyone who might benefit, and she in turn asked us to help spread the word. Contact Bill at 206-386-1337 or william.mace@seattle.gov – see what the city website says about this program here.
West Seattleite on the run – thousands of miles from home
(Photos courtesy Maureen Gillis)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
You’re a beginning runner — say, you’ve been jogging a few miles a few days a week for the past couple of months — and someone asks if you’d like to run a 27-mile marathon through Peruvian peaks to Machu Picchu (map) on one of the most challenging race trails in the world. Would you do it?
If you’re 26-year-old Maureen “Mo” Gillis, the answer is, absolutely!
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West Seattle Weather Watch: NEXT weekend looks promising …
(Alki Beach fire this chilly holiday weekend, photographed by Greg Wright)
The rainiest/windiest/coldest of this storm episode is past, according to the National Weather Service, which dangles the possibility of sunny, 70s-ish weather NEXT weekend in its newest forecast. There was a bit of trouble in the weekend turbulence, though – we heard from Mark in the 6700 block of Beach Drive (map); his 23-foot boat broke free from its buoy – and neighbors reported it as it blew past their homes – it finally stopped about a mile north, where they planned to retrieve it at high tide.
West Seattle Crime Watch: 3 reports – and prevention info
Before we get to the reports that have come in over the holiday weekend, the prevention info: In the photo, that’s Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow. If you’re interested in setting up a Block Watch, or getting more information about prevention, he’s the guy you contact. We photographed him at a home in the southeastern corner of Gatewood last week; he was there at the request of neighbors who were concerned about burglaries in the area. He stressed that one powerful way to deter crime is for neighbors to know each other; being aware of what’s usual on your block helps you notice more quickly something that’s not. He also walked neighbors through making a map of their block with the names and addresses of residents clearly marked on the map. He said people need to give their neighbors permission to watch each others’ homes. You can contact him, to find out about Block Watch and/or neighborhood presentations, through the info on this page; you can also peruse prevention advice here. Meantime, we have reports of two car break-ins and a scooter theft, from three different West Seattle neighborhoods, ahead:Read More
West Seattle history: How Alki Point was born
The following story originally appeared in the Alki News Beacon in 2002, says writer John Sheirbon, but he asked if we’d be interested in sharing it with you – we didn’t see it first time around and maybe you didn’t either.
(another great aerial photo by Gatewood pilot Long Nguyen – Alki Point at upper right)
By John Sheirbon
Special to West Seattle Blog
Between 900 and 930 AD, the Puget Sound region was shaken by a strong earthquake (of at least magnitude 7) along what is now called the Seattle Fault. While researching this piece, I wondered what it might have been like to experience the event. Herewith, a yarn:
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West Seattle swimming: Final day for Colman Pool’s 2009 season
Chilly or not, this is the final day of 2009 operations for Colman Pool on the shore in Lincoln Park. It’s on a “holiday” schedule – page 5 of the brochure – which means: Lap swim noon-1:30 pm, public swim 1:45-4:45 pm, half lap swim/half family swim 5-7 pm. (This was also supposed to be the final day of the season for city wading pools, but unlike swimming pools, they don’t open if the forecast doesn’t call for temperatures of at least 70 degrees; you can check the wading-pool hotline at 206-684-7796.)
One last day for Delridge “Mobile Market” – then help plan a party!
(WSB photo from August 17)
The second-to-last day of the Delridge Produce Cooperative‘s four-week “Mobile Market” pilot project ended early today because of the stormy weather – but you can check out the (free!) produce stand’s grand finale tomorrow (Monday), south lawn of Youngstown Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way, where we took the photo you see above; here’s a map), 3:30-7:30 pm. After that, DPC founder Galena White hopes you will help plan an event to celebrate the progress so far and talk about what happens next:
The ‘Mobile Market’ team would like to plan a party at which we will give out the results of the survey, share stories of our experiences at the booth and celebrate the connections we made, and talk about the next step in building our community’s food infrastructure. Everyone and anyone is invited to the party, including the volunteers, produce contributors, people who visited the booth, and anyone who wanted to visit but didn’t get the chance. We need help planning the party and we need volunteers to help make it happen.
We’d like for anyone who wants to help to join us in planning the party this Tuesday, September 8th at Pearls, from 6-8 pm. We’ll make plans for where the party should be held, what kind of refreshments we should have, and what the program will be like; and then we’ll all choose which tasks we want to accomplish. Planning the party should be almost as much fun as the party itself, so we hope that a lot of people come!
Pearls is at 4800 Delridge Way; here’s a map.
Sending get-well wishes to Fauntleroy’s Ron Richardson
He’s contributed great stories here at West Seattle Blog and at partner site White Center Now, but you likely know Ron Richardson best for many other things – he’s a noted local historian, active with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, and community advocate, active on issues including public campaign financing and peace advocacy (which is how we first met him – because of the sign outside his home near Lincoln Park). Now he is in a fight to regain his health, after a sudden problem sent him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Fauntleroy’s Judy Pickens has spoken with Ron’s wife Sherry and says they don’t know yet whether it’s benign or malignant, but Ron is out of the hospital and back home as of a few days ago. Cards are welcome, she suggests, saying the Fauntleroy Community Association would be glad to get them to him: Send them to Ron Richardson care of FCA, P.O. Box 48343, Seattle, WA 98146-6343.
Update: Extension cord blamed for fire in apartment over market
Checking on the aftermath of the fire in the Juneau Street Market building on the southwest corner of California/Juneau (map), covered here as it unfolded late last night/early this morning (here’s our report, with video) — Both the market and neighboring Ho-Win Restaurant are locked up, with no notes on the door when we checked. We did meet one of the residents who escaped the fire in the apartment over the store. He says they’re OK and staying in a hotel. As for the fire’s cause, Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick just told us it’s been determined the fire was accidental, sparked by an “overheated extension cord.” Damage is estimated at $300,000, and confined to the second story of the building
West Seattle whale-watching: Orcas spotted, northbound
Rick sent photos after seeing what looked like four orcas heading northbound past Brace Point about 9:15 this morning – that’s the wide shot, with the Vashon ferry dock in the background; here’s a closer view:
There’ve been multiple South Sound sightings of orcas lately, as far south as the Olympia area; according to this Friday story from The Olympian, the ones seen there were “transients,” not belonging to the three orca pods considered “Southern Residents” usually seen around Puget Sound. 3:55 PM P.S. – We are remiss not to mention the Orca Network EVERY time we have an orca story – you can report sightings through their website, where you also can subscribe to their daily e-mail with a roundup of regional sightings and other whale-related news – go to orcanetwork.org. 9:36 PM UPDATE: Rick did report the sighting to the Orca Network, and got a note back saying his sighting helps them confirm that five orcas seen off South Whidbey later in the day were indeed the “transients” that had been hanging out in the Olympia area.
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