(WSB photo showing Zebra burglary damage, just after police arrived on July 19th)
We promised a followup on the broken-glass burglaries we’ve been covering in the past two weeks – starting with one at The Swinery on July 16 – so here’s the newest information from Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James. He confirms:
We do indeed have a commercial burglary pattern in West Seattle. To date, we’ve had 8 confirmed smash and grab burglaries that fit within our pattern since the middle of July. The burglar typically breaks a window to gain entry, grabs a cash register/vending machine, then flees.
Lt. James says another common point is that they’re happening in the early morning hours. He says King County Sheriff’s Office detectives also are investigating similar cases, and working with SPD counterparts “to coordinate the investigation.” Meantime, the Southwest Precinct is checking to see if any other SPD precincts have noticed similar trends. As for what else is being done about this new “burglary pattern,” Lt. James continues:
We have advised businesses to try to make it inconvenient for burglars to access cash registers/vending machines. We are also putting out directed patrols in the areas of these burglaries. As always, we ask for the community’s assistance in reporting suspicious people and activities. At this time we’ve been asking businesses with cameras focusing on the exterior of their buildings (to) review those tapes every 24 hours and report suspicious activity.
The most recent smash-and-grab was early Saturday at the liquor store in The Junction (WSB coverage here – our story also lists the previous ones we covered, and has a comment that adds to the list).
(WSB photo taken during the reinstallation last Wednesday)
Five days after the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole was reinstalled (WSB video coverage here), WS Rotary has just sent new details about the rededication celebration planned for August 10th (one week from tomorrow), as well as an invitation to join in a work party at the park this weekend:
The public is invited to join the Rotary Club of West Seattle as we celebrate the return and rededication of West Seattle’s beloved Totem Pole. The Totem was recently refurbished and re-installed at The Rotary Viewpoint Park on 35th and Alaska SW. We are honored to have the original carver Robin Young, Cecile Hansen, Duwamish Tribal Chairperson and other dignitaries as our guests.
Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time: 5:00 PM
Where: Rotary Viewpoint Park at 35th and Alaska SW
After the ceremony, all are invited to join the Rotary Club at the West Seattle Golf Course Fox Den Grille as we continue our celebration. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
A Work Party to spruce up the park is scheduled for Saturday, August 7th starting at 8:30 AM . Volunteers are needed if you would like to help.
For more information, please contact Shirley Clough at s.clough@comcast.net or 206-293-2773.
Last week’s reinstallation followed restoration and repainting work at Artech, more than seven months after the pole was stolen and taken to Oregon, where it was found along with another totem pole that had been stolen from its display site at the Renton Fred Meyer. ADDED 7:03 PM: An unusual view of the newly reinstalled West Seattle totem pole, taken Friday and shared today by Colby:
With a little over a month till the new school year, Westside School is moving out of its just-south-of-West-Seattle building and into its new Sunrise Heights headquarters at the former EC Hughes Elementary (7740 34th SW). This is the “full campus move” mentioned in an update last month; the school announced four months ago that it had reached an agreement to lease the Hughes site from Seattle Public Schools ($3,750/month for at least the first 3 years). (Two other closed campuses in West Seattle, Fairmount Park and Genesee Hill, had been offered for lease, but no takers.) Westside’s former neighbor, Explorer West Middle School, announced in June it’ll take over the classrooms left empty by Westside’s move. This is one of two major West Seattle school moves this month – Chief Sealth International High School is moving out of its temporary site at the former Boren Junior High on Delridge after two years of renovation work at its permanent campus in Westwood.
You’ve seen the city’s new traffic-messaging signs in action recently – with the alert about the Spokane Street Viaduct lane closure, for example – and now the state is sending a reminder that its “Smarter Highways” signs are about to be activated on highways including the stretch of northbound I-5 used by drivers leaving the West Seattle Bridge. So what are these signs going to do that the current “trouble ahead” signs don’t, you ask? Read on for the official news release:Read More
FIRST “HAPPENING NOW” REPORT AT 8:15 AM: Just a few minutes ago, the backhoe bit into the back side of the former Pegasus Pizza storefront on Alki (2758 Alki SW). It’s been sitting vacant since the restaurant moved next door 2 years ago. For now, you won’t see anything driving by on Alki Avenue, though, because the work has started behind the building. 8:44 AM UPDATE: Here’s our video from the first crunch (after the backhoe operator carefully plucked a few metal pieces from atop the building – including the satellite/microwave dish and a piece of ventilation/cooling equipment):
A permit’s been granted for the “shell/core” of a new building to be put up at the site. 11 AM UPDATE: Three hours in, the demolition crew is moving to the front of the building – this video shows the second-story front wall coming down (first half of clip and then second part, toward the end of the clip):
Those who’ve come to watch include Pegasus team members past and present who have been sharing memories as they watch the building come down, piece by piece. Among those here is the building’s owner, who tells WSB that the one-story commercial building he’s putting up has “multiple” interested parties so far – but no leases signed yet.
3:45 PM UPDATE: By mid-afternoon, the teardown was all done (and the sun was finally out) – cleanup, of course, remains to be done, before construction. Just before noon, the backhoe was dumping debris into the back of a big hauling truck, but you can see what remained after that, and after the rest of the demolition.
(Photo above added 11:54 pm, from DC in North Admiral; next photo is courtesy of Erik)
Thanks to everybody who’s sharing their photos of tonight’s sunset. As noted earlier (when we were talking about the “golden sunlight” that preceded it), this is attributed to smoke in the atmosphere from fires all over the region. Whatever the case, the sunset drew a crowd; we watched from Lowman Beach, where at least a dozen people had set up chairs to watch the sun slip behind the Olympics – and we heard one applaud after the last bit of pinkish red was gone.
(Photo above, courtesy of Cam; next photo, tweeted by @lumpacy, republished with permission)
Ken Wise, Rotarian, totem-pole sleuth, local businessman, and lifelong West Seattleite, died today.
Mr. Wise, longtime owner of West Fuel, had been fighting cancer. He and fellow Rotarian Duane Ruud tracked down what happened to the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole last December, even before police could crack the case. He wasn’t well enough to come see it reinstalled last Wednesday, but his son was there, and friends planned to go visit him immediately afterward. Its rededication is set for August 10th. (EDITED MONDAY – We are now told there are no official service plans so far.).
WEDNESDAY UPDATE: The service is now officially confirmed for 11 am August 19 at Fauntleroy Church.
Now that we’ve got some late-afternoon sunshine, wondering why there’s a more-golden-than-usual cast to it? The Eastern Washington/B.C. wildfires, pointed out John on the WS Blog Facebook wall. He writes, “The recent outbreak of fires is saturating the atmosphere, and the Seattle area is over 50% saturation … the most recent update can be found on www.wunderground.com/wundermap – go to settings below and turn on ‘fire’.” This also has been written about this afternoon by famous forecaster Cliff Mass, who includes imagery to explain the phenomenon.
His closing statement was the last one, and it included his suggestion that his three Democratic opponents “never met a tax they didn’t like.” The three – Joe Fitzgibbon, Mike Heavey, Marcee Stone – had each voiced support for a “progressive income tax.”
After McElroy finished, Heavey broke format to address the audience: “Can we take a straw poll? How many of you are in favor of a progressive income tax?”
A majority of the 40-plus attendees raised their hands. Heavey: “Against?” A few hands went up. as was the case when he asked, “Abstain?” He concluded, “Well, then, keep in mind we [Democrats] represent you.”
McElroy parried back, “I’d just like to see you all come up with the same definition of what a ‘progressive income tax’ is.”
One person in the audience somewhere – affiliated with McElroy or not, we have no idea – clapped.
This just in, following our earlier report of a website set up to collect donations to help the family of West Seattle sailor Jarod Newlove, killed last week in Afghanistan. The date and place is now set for a vigil in his memory. From family friend Hailey:
Petty Officer 2nd Class, Jarod Newlove is a West Seattle native. He attended Chief Sealth High School, where he graduated in 2003. He served in the U.S. Navy starting in 2004 and was deployed December of 2009 to Afghanistan. Among his many accomplishments, he touched the heart of many people. We recently learned of Jarod’s death in Afghanistan. He has left behind many memories, stories, family and friends. Together as a community, we want to show our love and support to Jarod and his family.
On Tuesday, August 3rd, we will be celebrating the life of Jarod Newlove. The celebration will take place at Chief Sealth Baseball Field, on Trenton St., from 8:00 pm until the last person leaves. This will be a candlelight vigil, so please bring a candle to light in his honor.
Hailey says the family is requesting that media stay “outside the stadium” – the event is just for family and friends. Again, the website to help his family is at jarodnewlovefamily.blogspot.com.
Tuesday’s the night – all over the peninsula (and the rest of the city), you’ll see “STREET CLOSED” signs marking the spot for block parties in honor of “Night Out” (formerly National Night Out Against Crime), celebrating neighborhoods taking a stand against crime. According to the Seattle Police “Night Out” webpage, the deadline to sign up your neighborhood – and therefore get the right to close off (non-arterial) streets for block parties – is 9 am tomorrow, so you’d better get busy now if you haven’t gotten around to it yet. And we’ll repeat our pitch – we traditionally spend Night Out visiting West Seattle parties for as-it-happens coverage, so if a WSB photojournalist would be welcome to stop by, please let us know where and when your party’s happening (the official Tuesday night time frame is 6-10 pm, but in past years we’ve noticed some neighborhoods don’t really get going till a bit later). Thanks! (Here’s some of our coverage from last year.)
The family friend who is helping organize efforts to assist the family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, the West Seattle sailor found dead in Afghanistan last week, has just set up a website: You can make donations to help PO3 Newlove’s family by going to jarodnewlovefamily.blogspot.com; the 25-year-old sailor leaves behind a wife and two very young children. Their friend, Hailey, also says they’re working on plans for a public event to remember and honor PO3 Newlove – no date/place set yet. 4 PM UPDATE: That event is now set for Tuesday – we’ve published a separate story here.
Not as cuddly-looking as the tigers at Point Defiance, but this one is striking just the same, and probably somebody’s keepsake, so Fritz shared the photo in hopes of finding its owner:
Earlier this week I witnessed 3 teens scurrying up my street carrying a large tiger. My wife and our neighbor saw them abandon it in the bushes a few houses away. We rescued it and it has been living in our garage. I would very much like to reunite it with its rightful owner.
It appears made of a polymer, and unfortunately, the youths dropped it before we got it and its jaw has been broken. We have the broken piece.
I would hope that the tiger’s rightful owner would have a photo of the tiger or some way of proving that belongs to them.
If it’s yours, either leave a comment – Fritz promises to check regularly – or e-mail WSB so we can put you in touch. (P.S. – For smaller lost-and-found items with less dramatic backstories, you are welcome to post in the WSB Forums any time!)
The sun that graced the West Seattle Farmers’ Market from the start last weekend may not be there YET today, but the vendors certainly will be. This week’s Ripe and Ready List promises lots of new tree-fruit offerings, among other things. 10 am-2 pm as always, 44th/Alaska. (Also new this week – Friends of Seattle Public Library will be tabling, along with some of the other great local groups you’ll meet at the market every week.) … West Seattle’s newest market, Highland Park Sunday Market, also is scheduled to be in session today – promising (per its FB page):
Fresh eggs, sourdough bread and starter, fresh herbs and mixed greens, etched kitchenware, awesome t-shirts and household linens, hand-crafted jewelry, homemade desserts and sweet treats, delicious pickled veggies, art projects for kids and homemade dog treats!
7 pm and time to start our coverage of the West Seattleites who are in the city’s biggest parade tonight, the Seafair Torchlight Parade. We’re along the parade route downtown. For starters, we just got word from West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival president Tim Winstonthat the Hi-Yu “Dreams Do Come True” float has won the Princess Award – same one last year’s float won! Just got one addition to the list of West Seattleites to watch for – Michelle Edwards, former Hi-Yu Queen, is playing cymbals with the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder. 7:54 PM UPDATE: And again this year, the Hi-Yu rep in the Miss Seafair program has been chosen as a princess – Tim just sent word that Margo Femiano was chosen 1st Princess. (Just got a photo of Margo from tonight’s coronation, via text message – thanks! – added it at left.) ADDED 9:54 PM: The Hi-Yu float went by our spot (by City Hall) a short time ago – here’s video:
11:48 PM: Adding some more video, as promised. Here are the Pathfinder K-8 unicyclists flying by:
And here’s new Seafair First Princess Margo Femiano, riding in the parade:
Margo was Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu for 2008-2009; because Miss Seafair candidates have a busy schedule, as do members of Hi-Yu royalty, Miss Hi-Yu isn’t in the Miss Seafair competition until the summer after her reign ends (Margo was crowned in 2008; she crowned her Hi-Yu successor, Georgia Mitchell, in 2009; and Georgia in turn just crowned her successor, Kelsey Bills, last Monday – Georgia will be Hi-Yu’s contender for Miss Seafair next year).
You of course have to take into consideration the fact that Vashon Island was where the forum was held – Courthouse Square, to be specific, part of a double bill with a forum for candidates in the other big open race that’s on Vashon, West Seattle, White Center and Burien (etc.) ballots, 34th District State House Position 2 (we’ll cover that one in a separate story later).
This race, if you’re just starting to ramp up, is for the County Council seat that used to be held by now-County Executive Dow Constantine. Former Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago was appointed to do the job until this fall’s election, but wasn’t interested in running to keep it. Four candidates are running, and all were on hand for last night’s forum.
State Sen. Joe McDermott of West Seattle was the only candidate voicing unqualified support for the West Seattle Water Taxi run. Tim Fahey of South Park said he’d only found it useful to “go on dates” (and he hadn’t been aware of the Vashon run until it came up at the forum); Normandy Park City Councilmember Shawn McEvoy said West Seattleites had better “step up” their usage of the passenger ferry (seeming to infer “use it or lose it”); and Diana Toledo of West Seattle was noncommittal, saying she didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.
And that was nowhere near the hottest topic they had to face in the hour-long forum moderated by Seattle University law professor (and Vashon resident) Craig Beles:Read More
He’s scheduled to ride in the Seafair Torchlight Parade downtown in about two hours, but right now, Mayor Mike McGinn is in West Seattle, at the Camp Long Lodge reopening party. It continues till 7 tonight, with tours of the million-dollar renovation work (including the expanded kitchen), cake, and other festivities, and at 7, you’re invited to stay in the park for GreenStage‘s free Shakespeare performance. More photos later; the mayor’s Twitter account just posted a photo of West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen speaking (video added later):
Rasmussen was chair of the council’s Parks Committee when voters passed the Parks and Green Spaces Levy, which paid for this project – plus this pic of the grand-reopening cake, attributed to Fauntleroy’s own Original Bakery:
(video substituted for photo, 7:48 pm) And of course, it can’t be a grand opening without a ribboncutting:
While, as Parks project manager Kelly Goold told us during our sneak-peek tour last week, this renovation is meant to help extend the lodge’s life into the future, its past is also something to honor, as Camp Long’s Sheila Brown noted at the party:
Find out more about Camp Long and its programs and features by going here.
Thanks to the tipster who called to tell us about what is apparently the latest broken-glass business burglary case in West Seattle, at the state liquor store in The Junction. A glass company was there fixing the rear door just about an hour ago. We haven’t reached police about the case yet, but the online “911 incident report” map confirms a “commercial burglary” in the 4500 block of California SW, reported to 911 at 3:36 am today. Previously reported cases include Northwest Art and Frame (reported here – a commenter on that story also mentioned break-ins at Uptown and Allstar), Zebra Print and Copy in The Triangle and Freshy’s Coffee in South Admiral (reported here), and The Swinery (mentioned here). ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: We heard from a witness to the liquor-store burglary who wants to be anonymous:
The robbery happened at 2:30 am Saturday morning. It woke me up; the suspect took one bottle from the place as far as i can tell. He ran through the parking lot going west bound. They brought in a k-9 unit along with the fire department to secure the broken door. A person from the liquor store was brought in and stayed until around 4 am until the fire department completed the boarding up.
We hope to find out more from police Monday about whether this is considered an official “pattern” of break-ins, and what the status of the investigation is.
Remember Melanie‘s amazing photos of a great blue heron, published here two weeks ago? (Follow that link if you didn’t see them the first time!) This time, she shares a photo of baby seagulls, photographed atJack Block Park. Sorry we can’t crop it any closer, but even this size yields something we didn’t know – that baby gulls are speckled.
(WSB photo from Eat Local Now! in October 2009) Last year’s Eat Local Now! – held in West Seattle – was a hit, with hundreds of people sharing an evening of good good, good discussion, and interesting info about food sustainability. Organizers including Sustainable West Seattle and West Seattle-co-founded CoolMom are starting to cook up this year’s event, and hoping you can help:
Eat Local Now! is a joint fundraiser of Sustainable West Seattle, Cool Mom, and The Good Business Network with the mission to promote the importance of and strengthen the local food systems and economies of Seattle and Puget Sound. Last year our dinner served 225+ attendees at the Masonic Hall in West Seattle and was educational, fun, and a fantastic dinner value. This year we are very excited to be partnering with Herban Feast to have the event at their Sodo Park catering venue on September 30th. This beautiful space is sure to make this years event something to be proud of.
Our organizing team would love your help either in the coming weeks or the day of the event. If interested, please attend our next organizing meeting at Big Al’s Brewery (9832 14th Ave SW) 7-9 pm in White Center on August 5th. We could use more help in the areas of marketing the event, seeking food, beverage, or sponsorship donations, organizing a silent auction, decoration, tabling, poster distribution, developing the evening program, or serving and greeting during the event itself. If you can’t make this next meeting, please e-mail Bill Reiswig at bill@sustainablewestseattle.org with your interests. Thank you!
Just came back to West Seattle on the state ferry Tillikum from Vashon (covered the two-race campaign forum – stories in the morning) – without realizing, till the boat was almost docked, that it was a historic run: The last voyage for Captain Lynda Wheeler, Washington State Ferries‘ first female captain. Well-wishes were broadcast on the public-address system just as the Tillikum pulled up to the Fauntleroy dock; the voice urged those on board to applaud Captain Wheeler as she walked off. (We hoped to catch a photo but she was out of sight by the time we drove off the ferry.) In 1977 – according to this timeline – Captain Wheeler became WSF’s first female deck officer (here’s more from HistoryLink).
ADDED SATURDAY 6:48 AM: Turns out someone who read this last night did get a photo – one of the West Seattle-residing candidates at the aforementioned forum. State Sen. (County Council hopeful) Joe McDermott:
I had the opportunity to congratulate her (last) night walking off the boat here at Fauntleroy. She is looking forward to hiking during retirement, but is sleeping in (this) morning.
You’ve seen the city’s new traffic-messaging signs in action recently – with the alert about the 
Petty Officer 2nd Class, Jarod Newlove is a West Seattle native. He attended Chief Sealth High School, where he graduated in 2003. He served in the U.S. Navy starting in 2004 and was deployed December of 2009 to Afghanistan. Among his many accomplishments, he touched the heart of many people. We recently learned of Jarod’s death in Afghanistan. He has left behind many memories, stories, family and friends. Together as a community, we want to show our love and support to Jarod and his family.
Tuesday’s the night – all over the peninsula (and the rest of the city), you’ll see “STREET CLOSED” signs marking the spot for block parties in honor of “Night Out” (formerly National Night Out Against Crime), celebrating neighborhoods taking a stand against crime. According to the 
that the Hi-Yu “Dreams Do Come True” float has won the Princess Award – 
Welcome back, 
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