West Seattle, Washington
21 Sunday
That’s City Councilmember Sally Clark (Avalon Glassworks glass pumpkin in the foreground) at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce office last Thursday, when we sat in on the monthly “Lunch with LEO” (local elected official) brownbag at which she guested. Clark chairs the council’s Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee; a related issue we asked her about is coming to a head tonight, and while the meeting is not in West Seattle, it’s open to the public and those with an interest in neighborhood planning will want to attend.
This all links to the big event at Youngstown last July, in which more than 100 people from five West Seattle “neighborhood plan areas” showed up to talk about what’s changed since the Neighborhood Plans were approved a decade ago, and what should happen next. (The followup to that meeting is coming up Nov. 5 at Mercer Middle School on Beacon Hill, and it’s important to be there too.) The big questions now include, what happens with the neighborhood plan update process; will the city budget ehough money next year to continue proceeding with some plan updates each year; and whether a few updates per year is fast enough. That issue is so far up in the air, there’s a question about whether the citywide Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee will even continue to exist – Councilmember Clark told us on Thursday that if it doesn’t, perhaps there could be a citizen committee as an adjunct to the Seattle Planning Commission paying attention to planning issues.
So tonight, the Advisory Committee has a special meeting to discuss its future, and to clarify city government’s commitment to the process. (Thanks to West Seattle NPAC rep Sharonn Meeks for the tip.) The meeting starts at 6:15 pm at City Hall downtown (Bertha Knight Landes Room) and a public-comment period is scheduled close to the end, around 8:10 pm.
EARLY WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Meeks says the committee voted to continue its work; now the question remains how the funding will fare in the budgeting process.
The Parks Department confirms that this Saturday’s planned cyclocross race at Lincoln Park is now canceled. We got first hint of this last night when CC’d in an e-mail exchange from a West Seattle resident to Parks, in which the resident wrote, in part:
Several years ago, a cyclo-cross race at Lincoln Park caused major damage to native shrubs, grasses and trails. At that time, a large number of complaints led to (I thought) a ban on this kind of race in our Parks, and a revocation of a permit for a future race.
However, I just learned that the Parks Department has issued a permit (or so the organizer claims) for a similar race in Lincoln Park for this Saturday. …
The attached map (and photo!) shows clearly that this Cyclocross race will cut through the forest, on social trails, and given the previous damage, and the stated intent of this race, will cause irreparable harm to the native vegetation and shrubs.
I ask you, as a resident and frequent user of Lincoln Park, to please cancel this inappropriate permit, and prevent the damage from being done (as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure).
In a reply shortly thereafter, Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter replied to the original writer:
… Parks has taken a look at the event coming up this weekend, and we have decided to move it to another, more appropriate venue. Our staff will evaluate its success there, and make a decision about whether and where to permit future such events.
We checked back with Parks today, to see what that venue might be, and spokesperson Joelle Ligon just replied, “The cyclocross folks have cancelled all together. There will not be an event this weekend.” We will be contacting the race organizers too – they had also posted in the WSB Forums recently to get the word out about park-access changes in connection with the then-scheduled event. ADDED 2 PM: A little more information from Parks’ Ligon, answering our question about why this all played out at the last minute:
About four years ago, there was a cyclocross event at Lincoln Park. At that point, the community let us know that they did not like having cyclocross there. We made a commitment to not hold cyclocross at Lincoln again. When our files went electronic about two years ago, the prohibition on cyclocross at Lincoln did get translated into the new system; hence, permitting staff were not aware that they should not have permitted the event at all.
We just heard from the cyclocross organization, and they have let us know that they intend to hold their event on Nov. 15 at Lower Woodland Park. We will waive their permit fee for the Nov. 15 event, and we have refunded the Lincoln permit fee.
3:35 PM UPDATE: As Zac announced in comments, the race promoters’ website now has a long explanation of what’s transpired from their standpoint, and what’s next — read it in its entirety here. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The race will be held at Lakewood Park in White Center instead – as announced on Twitter by MFG Cyclocross, and confirmed by this post on the King County Parks news site.
Three months ago, Comcast‘s Shauna Causey (a West Seattleite) sent word of upgrades on the way – here’s the story we published then. She just e-mailed word that they’re taking effect starting today – “In West Seattle: Comcast is converting channels 30 and above to a digital format today. We’re launching the HD channels in West Seattle on Nov. 24.” It’s part of what Comcast calls “The World of More,” explained here.
Described on the scanner as one driver hitting two parked cars. Driver is not seriously hurt, but southbound traffic in the 6800 block of Delridge (map) is blocked “significantly.”
One week from tonight, 8 pm, the voting’s over and the vote-counting begins. Remember there’s an alternative to mailing your ballot – drop boxes (here’s the list, including Delridge Neighborhood Service Center and White Center Library). Also be sure NOT to miss some important issues on the ballot – the King County Elections home page explains why you might accidentally overlook at least one. (WSB city-candidate closeups continue with the last pair, Council Position 4, tonight.)
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL 8:55 AM REPORT: The stabbing happened in the 4500 block of Delridge. Scanner says the victim is a 17-year-old boy who’s about to be taken to Harborview. We have one person on the scene and another on the way, details as we get them. 9:10 AM UPDATE: Police tell us on the scene that this began as “a fight between two juveniles” – one is hurt, one is in custody. 10:06 AM UPDATE: We have confirmed that this happened at Southwest Youth and Family Services. We waited at the scene to talk with SWYFS executive director Steve Daschle. He says it happened in one of the classrooms at SWYFS – both boys attend classes in one of the programs there. One other student and teacher were present when it happened. Right now, Daschle says, the students are debriefing with counselors and staff; they are working to convey to them all that it’s a safe place to be. He says there is no indication this was gang-related or anything more than a disagreement between the two involved. SWYFS happens to be the lead agency in our area working on the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative; Daschle acknowledges an incident like this is a setback, but promises they will work even harder toward their goals. 10:40 AM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Mark Jamieson in SPD media unit – he says the victim was stabbed in the back and leg but the wounds were described as “not life-threatening.” Weapon was a “kitchen knife” and was recovered at the scene. Christopher’s video shows the sizable emergency response – which cleared fast once the situation was resolved:
This morning, seattletimes.com (WSB partner) follows up on the WSDOT Viaduct-earthquake-simulation video release with a few more tidbits, including the price tag – which many asked about in comments here and elsewhere after the video started making the rounds Sunday night: $80,000. The Times story also questions why the video turned up “first” on a KING5 newscast – though it does not mention what we pointed out here Sunday night: WSDOT actually published the video to YouTube on Friday (which you can verify through Google Video Search, as well as the datestamp on the video’s YT page).
The Times and Publicola both note that the “public disclosure request” WSDOT cited as reason for the 2-year-old video’s release was filed by tunnel opponent Elizabeth Campbell of Magnolia – who says she didn’t see the video she’d sought till it went public Sunday night.
Last July, when the first six West Seattle Volunteer Recognition recipients were honored, organizers promised another round of recognition opportunities would be forthcoming – and here it is. This morning we’re opening nominations for Round 2 of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition, co-sponsored by the Southwest and Delridge District Councils. The first one was a little free-form, to see how it went – so this time, there’s a little more structure. We’ll honor:
*2 individual volunteers from community/neighborhood-related group efforts
*2 individual volunteers from youth-related efforts
*2 individual volunteers from environment-related efforts
*1 group award
“Volunteer” means unpaid work, done for a nonprofit-type organization, facility, campaign (etc.), primarily serving West Seattle. And when you send your nomination – please remember that what you write is all the judges have to go on, so don’t hold back on describing the great work your nominee has done! The plan is to honor the recipients at the West Seattle Community Tree Lighting in December, always well-attended, to make sure they get a hearty round of applause from the community that benefits from their hard work. So how do you nominate someone? You’re just a click away – here’s the online form.
(Photo by Gatewood’s own New York Vinnie, added 11:14 pm)
There was a mention of a thunderstorm – but no hail. Crazy out there! Send pix if it gets to ground-covering status where you are …
Just received this note from Warren, referring to the stolen-bike report in this Crime Watch item published here last night:
We live on the 5600 block of 37th ave sw. One of our cars was prowled this past Friday night and whomever looked through our car left a BMX behind. I thought it was some kids that were looking for quick stuff to boost from cars and got scared off and left their bike. My neighbor noticed the above post so I just returned the bike to a very happy owner!
Since West Seattle High School finished the season in a three-way tie for division lead with Rainier Beach and Nathan Hale, the three teams had to play tiebreaking minigames tonight at Memorial Stadium. Those games are now over. WSHS beat RB in the first one, lost to Hale in the second one, and the end result is, its next game is Friday, 5 pm, vs. Seattle Prep at Memorial Stadium. We tweeted the WSHS games at @wsblive (you can see highlights there till we add them here); there’s also a quick roundup at seattletimes.com (WSB partner). ADDED EARLY TUESDAY: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand‘s notes from covering the tiebreaker matches:Read More
By Mary Sheely
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Nhung Tran loves the beach.
“I really would like to spend the rest of my life on a beach location. So would she,” she says, indicating her sister Thu (on the left in our photo).
Now the women will get the chance – at least during working hours. Nhung and Thu Tran are partners in two new businesses set to open in the coming weeks on Alki Beach.
(August photo courtesy of Margaret, taken as a TV crew videotaped a harvest at her house)
The “donated tree” harvesting is over for the year, and Aviva from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is sending thanks today to tree donors and volunteers for what she describes as “the bountiful harvest of 2009,” exceeding the goals they set earlier in the year:
6639 pounds of plums, grapes, pears, apples and figs (were) harvested and donated to the White Center and West Seattle food banks. This wonderful local fruit, instead of spoiling in backyards and sidewalks, was distributed to those who could benefit and enjoy it. Community Harvest will not be harvesting any more trees in 2009, but will be continuing activities through the winter.
What’s next?
Monthly meetings of the West Seattle Urban Crop Circle – a group which meets to learn and share about food gardening. Next meeting: Sunday, November 1 – Native Edibles – Kimberly Leeper (Mariposa Naturescapes), 6:30 – 8:30 PM, Duwamish Cohousing Common House, 6000 17th Ave SW.
*Planning for a Community Garden in West Seattle
*Planning for next year’s fruit harvestPlease contact info@gleanit.org if you would like more information, or would like to participate in our projects.
(Photo by Robin Lindsey)
The joys and sorrows of seal-pup season continue on West Seattle shores, according to Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who says that while they haven’t seen a live pup on the beach in two weeks, they dealt with two deaths in the past week. “This is the time of year that the pups really struggle to survive.” So Seal Sitters’ work to help the pups continues, and today they’re putting out a call for assistance to help them keep that work going:
As a non-profit organization, Seal Sitters is always looking for creative ways to meet our operating expenses. Through the generous offer of one of our colleagues, Seal Sitters has been presented with a unique opportunity to raise funds to cover a portion of our expenses. There are many costs involved in protecting the seals on our beaches – maintaining our dispatch phone line, website, educational materials, etc – that are currently paid out of pocket by our volunteers.
Seal Sitters is in need of a place to host an estate jewelry sale to raise funds. We are looking for any place that could be open to the public where we could set up two or three small tables to display jewelry. If you, or someone you know, has a facility in a high traffic area, like any listed below, that could be used for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday prior to the holidays, please contact us at: info@sealsitters.org.
· Restaurant
· Meeting Room
· Office
· Storefront
· Vacant Storefront / building or other optionSeal Sitters welcomes donations of any type – click here. We would like to thank all of West Seattle for providing such a warm welcome for our smallest of marine mammal residents! Please visit our website and blog at www.sealsitters.org.
Guy Smith – who recently shared the story of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft – sent that photo of the Quandary fishing off Alki Point. We thought the name sounded familiar, and in fact, the WSB archives reveal we published a photo last year too. As WSB’ers enlightened us last year, Quandary is a purse seiner (explained here).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This time of year, for the past several years, longtime West Seattle real-estate entrepreneur Mike Gain would have been wintering in the California desert.
Instead, one morning last week, he talked with WSB while at his desk on the fourth floor of the Jefferson Square office building, looking out where the Olympics might have been visible if not for a thick wall of clouds.
But he’s not complaining. When we last interviewed him 8 months ago, he had just returned to take over Prudential Northwest Realty, five years after selling it. Its previous owners had moved the corporate headquarters to the Eastside; in March, Gain told us he hoped to move the HQ back to West Seattle, where he and longtime business partner Roger Cayce first scored real-estate success decades earlier.
The reason we interviewed Gain again now: He says the move is finally complete, and Prudential’s 24 corporate employees are now headquartered at Jefferson Square, where the company has taken over more than 4,000 square feet on the fourth floor in addition to its 14,000+-square-foot 6th-floor offices.
Couldn’t quite tell if there’s a blocked drain under that big gutter pond we found along 35th SW near Cloverdale (map) this morning, but that sort of “ponding” tends to hint at one, which is why – even as today’s morning downpour makes way for what’s supposed to be a less-soggy afternoon – the city is issuing reminders about citizens’ role in lessening drain-related danger. First, Seattle Public Utilities has issued another reminder about the Adopt-a-Drain program – and three more chances to get free cleanup supplies – details here. Second, property owners and construction crews are reminded to check out “drain socks” – those temporary inserts placed in drains to catch sediment – forgotten “socks” have caused big problems in the past. Here’s the full city alert on those. Lots more government info on winter weather is available at takewinterbystorm.org.
(Referendum 71 supporters demonstrated in The Junction again Sunday – from left, WSUU members Rose Fitzpatrick with her dog Rivet, Cynthia Townsend, and president Paula vanHaagen)
You can’t have a say on Referendum 71, Initiative 1033, King County Executive and Seattle Mayor – among other hot issues – if you’re not registered to vote. Today is your absolute last chance – if you’re not registered in this state but want to be, today’s the deadline but you have to go to the King County Elections office in Tukwila – here are the directions; they’re open till 4:30 pm.
Another big West Seattle real-estate deal reported by McQuaid Real Estate: The Halcyon Apartments on Lincoln Park Way (Google Street View above) have sold for $2.8 million. The 23-unit building had never been up for sale before – the sellers were the couple who built it more than 40 years ago, according to McQuaid’s announcement of the deal.
That’s Seattle Parks HQ at Denny Park downtown – and it’s the place to be at 7 pm tonight for the next meeting of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, which has reviewed a LOT of West Seattle projects in recent months. Tonight’s big agenda item – draft criteria for use of the levy’s Opportunity Fund (once the draft criteria get approval, they’ll be published tomorrow, and a public hearing is set for November 9, as reported here).
(Twitpic from @springhill_ws, showing the winner in Spring Hill‘s staff pumpkin-carving contest, by Xuan)
A quick reminder that it is now The Week Before Halloween, and you can scare up all the fun that’s leading up to the big night, as well as what’s happening on Halloween itself, by checking out the WSB Halloween page. Two October 31st notes that have nothing to do with Halloween, but we should mention them now so they don’t sneak up on you – 1. Saturday’s the last day of the season for the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle run; 2. Daylight Saving Time ends that night (technically 2 am Sunday – you’ll “fall back” an hour).
There couldn’t have been a perfect place for that young salmon masquerader to play during Sunday evening’s annual gathering at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook – the rock-sculpture rendition of a stream – as more than 60 people of all ages sang and drummed to celebrate coho spawners’ anticipated return.
More than a decade after the creek’s restoration, neighbors gather each year with high hopes it will play host to spawners. Led again this year by Jamie Shilling, they sang and chanted songs of celebration and welcome:
And they told stories, enhanced with native art:
A human bridge symbolized safe crossing:
What’s next: Fauntleroy Creek Salmon Watch starts today, as creek steward Judy Pickens explained (after noting that recent Puget Sound passers-by might be delaying things):
Here’s the “salmon sock” that Judy mentioned – installed atop a pole anchored in the Darwin’s-barberry hedge on the north side of the overlook:
If you can volunteer some time to join the salmon watch, go here to find out how. It’s scheduled to last about a month, and as you heard Judy say in the video, they hope at the very least to have people on the lookout for the five hours after high tide each day.
According to the YouTube stats an hour ago, few had seen that rather nightmarish simulation of Earthquake Vs. Viaduct online before Robert tweeted about it (and posted about it in the WSB Forums) within the past hour – even though YT says it was posted online on Friday. Turns out it was the subject of the newest item (posted around 9 tonight) on the WSDOT Blog, with guest author Ron Paananen, who’s been heading up the viaduct-replacement project. He wrote, “The specter of another major earthquake … is always present. That is why we are determined to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct before Mother Nature makes the decision for us.” Even if the current tunnel proposal follows the timeline that’s been outlined so far, The Viaduct is still scheduled to stay in service until 2016; results from this weekend’s safety inspections are due to go public by Friday. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: The viaduct project’s communications team says, in an overall update just e-mailed, that the video is based on a 2007 report but is being made public now in response to “a public disclosure request.” The update also includes more information on the forthcoming emergency-closure system that was announced over the weekend – see it here.
Two items to share: First relates to the bike you 
see in the photo at left. Andrea sent the photo along with a Crime Watch report: “My son had his bike stolen off our (well lit) porch in the early hours of the morning (Saturday). It was a very nice bike that was given to him as a present when he was adopted. It’s black and silver and has the words MAGNA and BUSTED on the frame in large letters. If you see this bike or have any information on it please contact us at (206) 932-9100.” She added in a follow-up exchange, “It really concerns me, because the person would have had to walk right up on our porch under the glare of the porch light to take it.” They’re at 37th and Edmunds (map) by the way – just a few blocks from where a theft reported earlier this weekend was later resolved. Although it’s not so much a happy ending, we do have the unusual opportunity to share multiple angles on how the case of the stolen Hyundai played out – read on:Read More
While we’ve been focusing on the election for Seattle Mayor and four councilmembers (among other offices) in a little more than a week, the current Seattle City Council has big decisions to make regarding the current mayor’s proposed budget. Tomorrow night is your last chance to speak out at a public hearing – this one’s at 5:30 pm in City Council chambers downtown (map). One of the advocacy groups working to muster supporters at the hearing is Friends of the Seattle Public Library; even if you can’t be there, if you are concerned about cuts in library hours (and more closure dates like this summer’s furlough), they invite you to sign their petition on Facebook – it has 1,500+ virtual signatures and they’re hoping to have 2,000 by tomorrow night’s hearing. The Budget Committee‘s chair, Councilmember Jean Godden, is also offering a chance for you to call in with budget comments before the hearing: 206-684-0481, 4:30-5 pm tomorrow.
Tonight we continue our city-candidate closeups; we took a look at them all before the primary election, and with the general election nearing, we’re checking back in with the finalists in five city races – mayor and council. We’ve already looked at mayor (Mike McGinn here, Joe Mallahan here), City Council Position 6 (Nick Licata here, Jessie Israel here) and City Council Position 8 (Mike O’Brien here and Robert Rosencrantz here); tonight, it’s Council Position 2, and we’ll conclude tomorrow night with Position 4.
By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Richard Conlin is coming to the end of his third term as a member of the Seattle City Council and is currently council president. He says he has done a lot in the past 12 years, but has the steam to do more in the next four.
Discussing the committees he has led, Conlin says, “I have been chair of neighborhoods, of transportation, and of the environment and utilities committees. With each one of those, I have taken major initiatives and moved those forward. In neighborhoods, it was neighborhood plans and tripling the neighborhood matching funds. In transportation, I got the Bridging the Gap started, got Sound Transit approved through the city process and got bicycle and pedestrian plans underway. In environment, I reshaped our solid waste standards, did forestry work and the local food initiative and just finished the drainage code.”
“Each time I have taken an area of the city, I have done something really creative and innovative,” he says, “and that is what I want to do in my next term. There are lots of things I am looking at as possibilities, and I have the energy to work on it.” He’s challenged on the ballot by West Seattle resident David Ginsberg.
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