West Seattle, Washington
07 Tuesday
Thanks to Sara for the tip via Twitter about police activity at 20th/Holden (map) earlier this morning. We checked with Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James, who says they got a call about two men seen removing items from a vacant house there – one suspect ran away, one drove away, so nobody’s in custody so far. Another vacant house figures into an update this morning from Mariko regarding her stolen car (which was noted in this Crime Watch roundup last night):
Wanted to let you guys know that my car was recovered in a house that is for sale, but vacant. The SPD told me that the due to the large numbers of homes for sale that are vacant, many thieves find this the perfect place to store stolen cars. Just a good tip for neighbors that notice strange cars in driveways – they might be stolen.
And a crimefighting reminder – the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network has its first meeting in a few months tomorrow (Tuesday) night – more info on its website.
9:52 AM: A source in one of the Seattle Parks budget briefings – as noted in our previous report, employees are being told whether their jobs will be affected by the budget Mayor McGinn will officially announce at noon – says $10.2 million in cuts are being proposed for Parks. That includes 192 people whose jobs will be affected by proposed reduction of 103.3 “full time equivalents” – apparently many jobs are being proposed for reduced hours rather than outright layoffs. Our source also says that next year, if you are found to get four parking tickets, you’ll get The Boot (immobilizing device) – unpaid parking tickets represent $15 million in uncollected revenue (not sure why this came up in the Parks meeting, but it did). Again, this is all reported to be in the mayor’s proposal – nothing is final until the next few months of meetings, hearings, and votes are over. More as we get it.
10:20 AM: Latest update from our source: The community centers that are reportedly to be proposed for closure include Alki Community Center in West Seattle. Also reportedly proposed for closure: Ballard, Green Lake, Laurelhurst, and Rainier Beach (a new building is in the works at RB anyway).
11:01 AM: More from our source: Child care/preschool could remain at Alki (among others) under a partnership model. Also, NO pool closures are proposed, we are told – and beaches with lifeguards will keep them. Again, the mayor’s official announcement is due at noon – Seattle Channel is offering a live online feed and we will post that in a separate story.
12:59 PM NOTE: See our separate, ongoing story about the budget address, and the online documents with details. The mayor described the Alki CC changes as “limited-use status.” Still sorting out full details.
Rev. Peter DeVeau at St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Seattle shares this announcement of an annual event:
Blessing of the Animals: 12 noon, West Seattle High School Parking Lot, rain or shine.
The community is invited to bring all creatures great and small for this celebration and thanksgiving for the gift of animals.
This is an annual event hosted by the people of St. John’s Episcopal Church. It is held on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4. Francis was known for his love and care for all creation.
Both Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine are scheduled to announce their proposed budgets today, and neither is expected to make anybody happy. Constantine’s budget address is scheduled for 10:30 am (KCTV will run it live); McGinn’s is set for noon at the Rainier Beach Community Center, and it’ll be streamed by Seattle Channel (link to come). Their respective proposals won’t be the final word – hearings, discussions, proposals and counterproposals will ensue, but we know that at least one group of employees will get the word in advance about whether their jobs are likely to stay or go: Seattle Parks staffers have meetings set this morning with Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams, starting at 9 am, according to a memo shared with us by a source. (Acting Deputy Superintendent Eric Friedli had told the Parks Board earlier this month that managers planned to brief workers on potential budget impacts before the news went public.)
Quick reminder for West Seattle Water Taxi commuters who either missed the news about yesterday’s crash (WSB coverage here) or the followup about today’s service: The county announced last night that a replacement boat from Argosy Cruises was expected to run the regular schedule – which starts with a 6:50 am trip from Seacrest to downtown. 7:31 AM UPDATE: The replacement is the former Water Taxi boat, the Sightseer, which left at 6:50 am (video above) with eight on board, according to what the crew shouted up to the bridge. (At least one passenger hadn’t heard about the crash – a crew member could be heard giving a quick explanation for the boat change.) 10:02 AM: Also note, as Eric points out in comments – the Sightseer is docking at the “old” Water Taxi dock at Pier 55 (Argosy HQ), not the current one at Pier 50.
(Asst. Chief Jim Pugel and Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, at the scene of last Thursday’s murder-suicide)
Story and photos by Christopher Boffoli
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
When Seattle Police officers responded to the location of this past week’s deadly shootings, they arrived to what Assistant Chief Jim Pugel (above, left) would subsequently describe as “an uncertain and chaotic scene.” There had been multiple 911 calls with word of shots fired, potential gunshot victims who needed medical attention, and a shooter possibly on the loose, close to busy intersections filled with people.
Though the circumstances of the event were far more severe and quite different than what most officers experience on a routine patrol, what was similar was the method by which they all applied their training and experience, with ambiguous information, in a rapidly developing scenario with the lives of citizens and emergency personnel at stake.
(Officers Chris Meyers and Dallas Murry demonstrate the X-26 TASER)
Just a day before the quadruple murder-suicide in West Seattle, the Seattle Police Department invited media, including WSB, to a training facility in Tukwila for a primer in how officers are trained to deal with equivocal, potentially dangerous situations. Though the outreach was clearly designed to engage the media in the wake of the downtown shooting of Native American woodcarver John T. Williams, as well as a handful of recent, racially charged interactions, the behind-the-scenes look at current training methods is relevant to Thursday’s West Seattle shootings as well as the recent Thomas Qualls shooting in the Alki area.
As the saying goes, “try before you buy.” In that spirit, Seattle Parks is in another round of “Try It for $2” (as advertised on WSB) – and that goes for certain programs and classes at the Parks facilities around West Seattle. Matt Richardson from Southwest Pool has some suggestions on what you can get for your two bucks:
The Seattle Parks Department is repeating its popular “Try It for $2” promotion through October 9th. All Community Center and Pool sites are offering selected classes at a reduced promotional rate. The first class of a course for a trial $2.00 fee. If you enjoy your first visit, you are invited to sign up for the remainder of the session.
At Southwest Pool, we would like to invite everyone to try our Fitness Classes at the $2.00 promo rate for their first visit. This includes Water Aerobics (both deep and shallow water) and Masters Workouts. It is a great way to get out of the house, have some fun, and do something good for your body.
Our regular attendees can get an even better deal. If you have taken Water Aerobics classes or Masters Workouts and would like to get back into it, your visit will be free if you bring in a brand-new participant to try a class.
The eligible classes are listed below.
Once again today, the Sustainable West Seattle crew at the WS Farmers’ Market was getting the word out about Eat Local Now! – the dinner/auction/education/entertainment gala this Thursday night at Herban Feast‘s Sodo Park (buy tickets online now!) – but that’s not the only local-food event on the horizon: Tonight, Stu Hennessey of SWS (he’s in the center of our photo, with Christina Hahs and Chas Redmond) sent this announcement:
Community Orchard of West Seattle work party for 350.org
Join Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle and Sustainable West Seattle as we build a community orchard that will provide locally grown fruit, nuts and berries to the Seattle area. This event takes place on the campus of South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Avenue SW, at the south end of the school property.
We will meet at 1 pm and work to 5 pm. on 10/10/10. Community gardens and orchards are being built throughout our nation to bring seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries to local residents with low to NO carbon demand. Since the Community Orchard of West Seattle will be built with organic farming techniques and will be distributed locally, the fossil fuel element will be left out of the equation. To find out more about the Community Orchard of West Seattle go to: www.gleanit.org
And back to event #1 – find out more about Eat Local Now! (with co-sponsors including WSB) at eatlocalnow.org.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports from the WSB inbox in the past few days – a car theft, a car break-in, and a condo building repeatedly burglarized – read on:Read More
Just heard on the scanner, and confirmed via Twitter from @macjustice (who also shared the above photo) – a Seattle Police car was involved in a crash in the Admiral District, at California/College. No word on circumstances yet – no serious injuries reported so far. Mac reports, “I was walking the other way and heard a minor crash, then the (police car) rolled across CA from the (Blockbuster store) and hit the truck pictured … looks like the PO clipped or was clipped by SUV (not pictured) as it pulled out of the parking lot.”
(This was our Sunday coverage of the incident, from first report through evening updates – The Water Taxi *will* run a normal schedule, with an Argosy boat, Monday, says the county)
(Top photo courtesy Roy, who was on the Water Taxi when it hit, added 12:27 pm; below photo, WSB cameraphone, added 11:56 am)
ORIGINAL 11:29 AM REPORT: From the scanner, and we are en route – the medic call to Alaskan Way involves the Water Taxi from West Seattle colliding with crashing into its downtown dock. Minor injuries are reported. We’re on the way to find out more. No word yet how this will affect service.
11:35 AM UPDATE: From Amy, in comments:
My husband is on the water taxi that crashed with our two young sons. Apparently the boat crashed into the dock on the Seattle side. He has heard reports of someone with a bloody nose and can see a broken window, but otherwise it didn’t sound too bad. He said they are telling everyone to stay seated while they decide how to get everyone off the boat.
According to the scanner, seven people are believed to be hurt, and one may have been briefly knocked unconscious, but is conscious now. Also from the scanner (we are almost to the scene), rescuers are using the fireboat Leschi to help get people off the boat. Nearby Fire Station 5 (on the waterfront between Colman Dock and Ivar’s) is being used as a base of operations to stage medics.
11:57 AM UPDATE: We are downtown finding out more about what’s happened. Four ambulances are at Fire Station 5 awaiting the patients, who will be brought over from the dock. We’re adding photos.
12:03 PM UPDATE: Note that traffic on Alaskan Way is being affected – as is obviously the Water Taxi schedule – we are working to reach King County DOT to find out about their plans. At least 5 are confirmed hurt – 4 being put on stretchers at the scene, 1 who is “walking” – the 4 will be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Police and Coast Guard, meantime, are assisting on the water:
We have just spoken at the scene with a passenger named Mike from West Seattle who says they got warning at the last moment – the captain said, everybody hold on, we’re going to hit – but they were not traveling at excessive speed, in Mike’s opinion.
12:29 PM UPDATE: Five patients are going to the hospital – from the scanner description, one is more seriously hurt than the other four. We have just added a photo atop this story from Roy, who was on board when it happened (husband of Amy, who has reported twice now in comments). Christopher Boffoli has joined Patrick Sand at the scene for WSB coverage; Christopher stopped by the West Seattle dock on the way here and says people there hadn’t yet gotten news about what had happened and were wondering where the boat was.
12:38 PM UPDATE: The Rachel Marie is the boat that hit the dock – recently there was a substitution for maintenance, but we have confirmed this. The other boat that serves Water Taxi runs, usually to Vashon, Melissa Ann, will be summoned into service later today, says Linda Thielke of King County Department of Transportation, but West Seattle Water Taxi service is suspended until then (no estimated time yet).
1:06 PM UPDATE: From “E” in comments:
We were on the boat too! I luckily had just strapped our 11 week old baby in the bjorn. My husband was helping with our 3-year-old son in the stroller. They took a pretty good hit. Sad for my son because he’s still a little traumatized!!! We are at Seahawk game now and he’s doing a little better. Hopefully one day he’ll remember how fun it was to get rescued by the police boat!!
Meantime, Amy’s husband Roy, who shared the top photo, checked in:
He reports, “We were cruising into the dock. I had noticed the boat went past where it normally stops, then I heard them say something like ‘Jones to the Control Room’ and then ‘everyone please brace for impact, we have an emergency’ and boom, we crashed into the dock. It felt like being hit while in a moving car.” He held onto the kids and they were ok, although a seat came loose from the base of the floor. He observed one end of the pier now sticking through the window of the water taxi, where thankfully no one was sitting. He said, “I’ll put it this way: I’m glad we weren’t going any faster.”
Just got an update at the scene from Seattle Police Det. Jeff Kappel of the Media Unit, who will be briefing us and others shortly – he says seven people went to the hospital, all with “non-life-threatening” injuries. (Update – USCG did the briefing instead – photo below:)
1:39 PM UPDATE: Briefing from Coast Guard: Mechanical failure is suspected. They say no one went into the water. (added later – video of the briefing in its entirety)
Meantime, King County DOT says water-taxi service has resumed – the Melissa Ann went toward West Seattle at 1:30 and should be back on the regular schedule.
2:09 PM UPDATE: Adding more photos – the ones we’ve had till now (except for Roy’s, atop the story) were from the WSB BlackBerry. Here’s a closer look at where the Rachel Marie hit the seawall – right where the ironwork at the historic Washington Street Landing is:
Here are Coast Guard boats getting the injured people to shore:
2:49 PM UPDATE: The damaged Rachel Marie has been pulled away from the seawall, Christopher reports. He says it’s now tied up to its dock at Pier 50, while Seattle Police photograph damage to the seawall. Christopher says the impact appears to have taken out at least one piling. We’ll be checking with King County DOT regarding both the Rachel Marie’s condition and how, if at all, tomorrow’s Water Taxi schedule will be affected, since the Melissa Ann serves Vashon Mondays-Fridays. Meantime, Jason Grotelueschen just sent this photo of the Melissa Ann just arriving at Seacrest, with passengers disembarking:
3:34 PM UPDATE: We just added our video of the full briefing by USCG Lt. Jon Lane, following the entry two hours ago in which we summarized it. He said 73 people were on the Rachel Marie when this happened, including the crew, and it was reported to have been going about 6 knots at the time.
ADDED 4:17 PM: Two photos from Christopher, showing damage to the Rachel Marie, including the broken window, from outside:
7:43 PM UPDATE: Water Taxi service will be normal tomorrow, according to the latest from King County:
Water taxi service between West Seattle and downtown Seattle will operate on a normal schedule Monday, Sept. 27 between Seacrest Dock and Pier 55, according to the King County Department of Transportation.
Service was briefly suspended Sunday when the vessel Rachel Marie struck a waterfront landing adjacent to its regular docking location along Alaskan Way in downtown Seattle. Preliminary reports point to a mechanical malfunction. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently investigating the incident.
While regular service will resume Monday morning with the 6:50 a.m. sailing using an Argosy Cruises vessel, passengers should visit the King County Marine Division’s website at
http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/WaterTaxi/WestSeattleRoute.aspx for updates and potential schedule adjustments.
Tonight we also have Christopher’s video of the Rachel Marie being pulled back from the collision scene:
ADDED 9:04 PM: West Seattleite Andrew Harms also was on board the Rachel Marie when it crashed into the seawall/historic pier and is sharing photos tonight – including one from the police boat that took him and more than 30 others to shore:
This is the piling mentioned earlier as having been taken out:
And from inside the Rachel Marie, seats tossed about:
We aren’t likely to get more details on the damage – to the seawall/pier as well as the Rachel Marie – till tomorrow.
West Seattle is home to many notable bakeries – from Bakery Nouveau to Heavenly Pastry and Cake to Shoofly Pie Company to Coffee to a Tea with Sugar to The Original Bakery, and more! We happened onto the story of a one-person bakery too … Manderin Cookie Company.
(Amanda Nokes, photographed during WSB interview at Uptown Espresso in The Junction)
Story and photo by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
“Cookies have become sophisticated — they’re not just for kids any more.” If you needed permission to eat more cookies, Amanda Nokes of Manderin Cookie Company may just have granted it — provided of course that you are indulging in her freshly-baked and delivered traditional cookies with a twist.
A self-professed “food junkie,” Amanda creates recipes in her head that combine the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors and textures. She adds caramel to the peanut butter cookie and dried cherries to the oatmeal raisin cookie. Her next cookie creation tentatively called “Bean’s Kitchen Sink Cookie” will combine goldfish crackers with vanilla Oreo cookies, butterscotch chips and malted milk balls. She says, “I love desserts and want to find new ways to deliver them to my thighs.”
All her cookies are given family names — “Bean” is her daughter’s nickname and son Max has his own mega-chocolate cookie: “The Max.”
Amanda’s cookie venture began a year and a half ago as something to do while looking for work.
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: In addition to the Fauntleroy Church/YMCA dedication (previewed last night) at 2 pm, today’s list also includes free Sunday Yoga at Sound Yoga (WSB sponsor) 11 am-12:15 pm; Bowling for Bullies, a benefit to raise funds for, and awareness of, what organizers call “the amazing Pit Bull ‘breed'” and rescued dogs who need a second chance, partial proceeds to Bullseye Dog Rescue with rescue dogs on hand for adoption, 1:30 pm at West Seattle Bowl … and as always, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm, The Junction (44th/Alaska), with apples and wild mushrooms among the new items on today’s Ripe and Ready list.
Thanks to Julie for the tip (which we just verified with a late-night drive) that 16th SW is now fully open again, after two months of a northbound detour for the latest round of road-rebuilding work. The original projected completion date was September 27th, and SDOT had reconfirmed for us this past week that they expected to be done “by the end of the month” – but it’s all open again now, a bit ahead of schedule. (We’ll check with SDOT Monday to see if there are still any final touches ahead.)
Today, you had the chance to see what’s new at Chief Sealth International High School and at Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor) – tomorrow, Fauntleroy Church and the co-housed YMCA (WSB sponsor) invite you to come see what they’ve been working on for about nine months! Judy Pickens showed us around for a preview – she’s in this photo with pastor David Kratz:
The renovations come just two years after Fauntleroy Church celebrated its centennial:
Tomorrow’s dedication and grand-opening event at Fauntleroy Church/YMCA starts at 2 pm – everybody’s welcome. (9140 California SW – here’s a map.)
Two great photos just landed in the WSB inbox – first, Rolly Francisco shares the view of Mount Rainier as seen from 40th/Andover around 5 pm (you just never know how many more times this year we’ll see it!) – second, Trileigh was out star/planetgazing last night and captured multiple moons:
Trileigh explains:
Although in the photo you can see three moons surrounding Jupiter (the bright white spot near the middle of the picture), with a spotting scope you can actually see four.
And I don’t know what that funny blue thing is to the lower left of Jupiter. It was in each picture I took, several minutes apart, and appeared to move first further away to the lower left each time and then back closer. Could it be a satellite, I wonder?
Tonight should still be clear, I believe – people with binoculars or a spotting scope should get out and see five moons at once, including Earth’s!
Thanks for the photos!
While this morning’s community celebration of the Chief Sealth International High School overhaul was under way, we added a photo to an earlier story – now, a couple more: Top, Sue Daley and Lisa Sattler were at the Sealth PTSA table; the PTSA has its own website, by the way – with info including the date for this year’s fundraising auction (November 18th). Next photo – one of the true showpieces of the work on campus, the Galleria between the renovated Sealth and the in-progress Denny International Middle School:
Meantime, there’s another big event ahead at Sealth: This Thursday night, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and other top district officials will be there for a “welcome back” community meeting – not just for Sealth families, but for all SPS families in the West Seattle area – that’s set for 6:30-8 pm Thursday (September 30th).
As noisy and dusty as demolition can be, it can sometimes lead to fleeting scenes you might even consider beautiful. Diane shared these photos from the Admiral Safeway site, taken last night – note the old clock suddenly front and center:
Also revealed, curving framework:
And then the newer facade, still standing:
Another look:
As we’ve noted the past few days, you can now check in on a webcam focused on the site – see it here. P.S. Looking further back into the week, Christopher Boffoli got this video as the major demolition began a couple days ago – coverage of other stories got in the way of publishing it till now:
Swedish Automotive owner Dave Winters is proudly welcoming everyone to this afternoon’s open house/housewarming celebration at Swedish’s newly completed, bigger location, 7901 35th SW (map). Above, that’s Dave at left with a longtime friend who’s also a big name in the West Seattle auto-repair/maintenance business, Tom Smith of Tom’s Automotive Service in The Triangle. (Both Swedish and Tom’s are WSB sponsors.) And what would a celebration of an automotive business be without cars? Swedish classics are on display:
And you may not be surprised to hear that the food being served up during today’s celebration includes Swedish meatballs:
Everybody’s welcome to stop by till 4 pm – not just for the food, fun, and fine folks, but also to see the green features of the new location – from drought-resistant native plantings, to the heating system designed to use waste oil, to the special nonpolluting car-wash bay (as noted in our sneak preview a few weeks ago).
Great day to get your car washed – and to help out the West Seattle High School volleyball team, which is having a fundraiser at West Seattle Produce (on Fauntleroy south of Alaska) – go shop, and get your car scrubbed. They’re scheduled to be there till 3 pm.
Thanks to Deanie Schwarz for that photo of The Wash Dog giving a free nail trim during the Pet Fest that’s under way right now, till 1 pm, at Arrowhead Gardens (WSB sponsor) – that’s David the Dog Walker helping out, Deanie explains, adding that he has a demonstration coming up around 12:15 pm. Lots of other pet-service providers there, people showing their dogs off in a dog fashion show, and if you don’t have a pet – Ginger’s Pet Rescue has 15 adoptable small dogs there too – like Betty Jane, a dachshund who’s not even 2 years old yet:
Arrowhead Gardens, by the way, is a pet-friendly retirement community, on the southeastern edge of Highland Park (2nd and Olson; here’s a map). More photos later!
(Added 10:12 am – photo from Sealth as the celebration begins outside the main entrance)
Two more notes about big events today in West Seattle: Both Chief Sealth International High School and Swedish Automotive are inviting you to come celebrate their shiny new digs – Sealth, as you know, has just gone through two years of renovations (with some new additions, like the Galleria that’ll be shared with the new adjacent Denny International Middle School campus when Denny opens next year), while Swedish has just built a brand-new location a few blocks south of its longtime site (here’s our recent sneak-preview tour). Sealth welcomes parents/guardians of students starting at 9:30 am, and everybody’s welcome starting at 10 am, continuing till noon (2600 SW Thistle; map). And noon is when the party starts at Swedish Automotive, 7901 35th SW (map), continuing till 4.
The forecast looks great. Here are five ways to do good today: Join JACK FM Radio for a beach cleanup 8 am-11 am, meet at Tully’s on Alki; West Seattle radio/Web personality Marty Riemer is hosting the event, and the first 50 people who sign in and then come back with a bag of beach trash each get a pair of tickets to the Jack Johnson concert in the Gorge … 2 West Seattle locations for National Drug Take-Back Day, 10 am-2 pm (full details here) … Go to West Seattle Produce for a Car Wash ‘n’ Shop event to benefit West Seattle High School Volleyball, 11 am-3 pm … Tonight the West Seattle Eagles host their first-ever Wild Game and Seafood Extravaganza to benefit the Sarcoidosis Foundation – $20/person for dinner, dancing, DJ, and silent auction – call (206) 938-4426 to check on ticket availability … Also tonight, a benefit at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for Nepali women – details here; it starts at 6:30 pm … And that’s only part of what’s going on today – our full list of events and activities around West Seattle is here.
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