West Seattle, Washington
29 Thursday
ORIGINAL 2:47 AM REPORT: Heard Guardian One over our house a few minutes ago, heading north – and in fact, we’ve just received a few notes and a call that the chopper is searching over Alki, and that there’s a ground search too. Haven’t heard exactly what happened but “two white males that jumped (a) fence” are being sought, and the chopper has reported not seeing any hot spots “around the building.” The caller said she’s seeing the activity close to the Alki Tully’s. More as we get it. 2:55 AM: We should mention, for potentially a bit of reassurance, there have been no aid calls in the area, so nothing injurious related to this; we’d been listening to the scanner even before the first phone call of the chopper over Alki (plus several Twitter and Facebook reports too) and hadn’t heard anything dramatic. 3:05 AM: Sounds like Guardian One is “clearing out.” If we’re not able to get any details on the incident here in the wee hours, we’ll update – as always – whenever the details DO become available. 4:05 AM: **NOT** related that we know of, but if you’re still awake in the Alki area after all this, there’s now a fire engine responding to 62nd/Alki for a “rubbish fire” (as real-time 911 puts it). 12:19 PM UPDATE: Just got the details from SPD media officer Mark Jamieson: A break-in or attempted break-in at Alki Elementary. Will post all the details in a separate item in a few minutes. No arrests.
Two weeks since West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day ’09, and the rest of garage-/yard-sale season is revving up big time. If you’re having a sale, we invite you to post it – free! – in the Freebies-Deals-Sales section of the WSB Forums – and so far tonight, four households with sales this weekend have done just that. They all ended up posting in the same thread, but you are welcome to start your own. See this weekend’s four sale listings here. (P.S. Almost forgot – we’ve also published an item about Shorewood Christian‘s 50-FAMILY yard sale this weekend!)
That’s what Jane e-mailed us to ask, since as noted in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, this is Fresh Bistro‘s opening night (street level of The Junction’s new Mural Apartments [WSB sponsor]). We’ve taken a look inside, but we don’t do reviews – the food opinions on WSB come from you! If you’ve been, share your thoughts in comments – this post will be on the home page through the weekend. Thanks!
That video showed the scene on the eastern edge of West Seattle – West Marginal/Highland Park Way (map; same spot that’s still under consideration as a possible jail site) – eight months ago, as police arrived to arrest more than 20 people at the encampment calling itself “Nickelsville.” (Our as-it-happened story here; followup here.) Those arrested weren’t in custody for long, and the camp packed up and moved days later, but the trespassing cases have been making their way through the Seattle Municipal Court system. Maybe not much longer, according to a KOMO News report today that says the charges will be dropped. We checked on the one suspect whose name we reported at the time, Anitra Freeman; in the online Municipal Court records, she still has an open charge for 2nd-degree criminal trespass, with a “readiness conference” scheduled next Friday and trial tentatively scheduled in June. When everything reopens next week, we’ll check on when the “dropping” is scheduled to happen. Meantime, “Nickelsville” still exists, and currently is set up at a Southeast Seattle church.
A reminder from Lora Lewis at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) — you’ve got till the end of the month to suggest which movies you’d like to see in this summer’s Movies on the Wall series in The Junction (co-sponsored by local businesses including WSB on six Saturday nights starting July 18). Here’s our original call for suggestions, with links to what’s been shown the past two years, plus comments from people who’ve already offered ideas (others have been e-mailed to westseattlemovies@gmail.com – where you’re also welcome to send yours (or leave a comment here)! The movie series’ official site is here. Suggestion guidelines aren’t too strict – the movies should be relatively family-friendly, though that doesn’t necessarily mean “G-rated.”
Earlier in the week, we shared West Seattle High School‘s DECA marketing teacher Michelle Sloan‘s request for people to come judge a student competition today – the students, she explained, teamed up to create hotels and market them. One of the community members who answered the call was Highland Park’s Dina Johnson, who shared photos of three of the six displays the judges were asked to score (that’s student Sumeet Chadha in the third photo). Thanks to everyone who helped!
Here’s the agenda just announced – the meeting, by the way, starts with free dinner for those in attendance:
Community Safety Meeting
Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:00-8:00pm
St James Place, 9421 18th Avenue SWDRAFT AGENDA
By the end of this meeting, we will have:
• Identified hot spots and action steps
• Discussed summer activitiesFacilitators – Karen Greene & Kathy Kaminski
6:00-6:10 Welcome, introductions
Enforcement
6:10-6:30 Police Reports – KCSO and SPD
6:30-7:00 Crime and Nuisance Hotspots Prevention
7:00-7:20 Summer Activities and outreach ideas!
7:20-7:30 Youth Projects & Teen Council Update
7:30-7:40 Announcements
7:40-7:50 Other topicsNext Meeting: Thursday, June 25, 6–8 pm
St James Place, 9421 18th Ave SW
This was originally supposed to happen during Sustainable West Seattle Festival weekend three weeks ago, but got postponed till today: Alex Wang from Neighborhood House wrote to let us know that the big banner to promote the High Point Neighborhood Center‘s solar array – 256 panels spanning 6,000 square feet, biggest of its kind in the state – is now up, in space donated on the west side of the West Seattle Nucor plant. Neighborhood House will be kicking off a campaign on the summer solstice to solicit sponsors for the solar panels. By the way, if you’re interested in a hard-hat construction tour of the under-construction HPNC– not just being built green, but being built LEED Gold — Wendy Hughes-Jelen of Green Spaces Real Estate has arranged a rare opportunity to do just that, early next Wednesday morning — find out about it (and how to RSVP) here.
One of the hearings listed below is happening in West Seattle. KCD is a little-known public concern but it’s hoping to get some feedback:
The King Conservation District (King CD) will hold a series of six public comment sessions in May and June to provide input on conservation priorities and programs that would be funded by the reauthorization of the district special assessment.
The King CD (www.kingcd.org) provides conservation information and technical assistance programs to all landowners within the district’s boundaries (most of King County) on a voluntary, non-regulatory basis. It provides grants for conservation projects and programs, and initiates community outreach activities including workshops, education programs, site visits, farm plans, and consultation on land, water and wildlife management.
The King CD is funded by a $10 per parcel/per year assessment within the district’s boundaries and expires on December 31st, 2009. The assessment provides approximately $6 million annually to the District. This fundinghas been allocated to support good stewardship practices by private landowners through King CD education workshops and site-specific consulting, and for natural resource conservation projects in partnership with King County and its cities. For the past decade, King CD has supported salmon recovery work within the District.
“We are inviting landowners, residents, member jurisdictions, and organizations that operate within the boundary of the district to share their ideas about their natural resource conservation needs and work accomplishments of the District” said King CD Executive Director Jeffrey Possinger.
Individuals interested in providing comments can attend any number of the public comment sessions or may submit comments in writing by June 5, 2009 by e-mail to comments@kingcd.org or standard mail at:
King CD Board of Supervisors
Attn.: Public Comment
1107 SW Grady Way, Suite 130
Renton, WA 98057For more information on the King CD and the public comment process visit www.kingcd.org
As one of 47 conservation districts in the state, the King CD is a natural resources assistance agency authorized by the State of Washington and guided by the Washington State Conservation Commission.
King Conservation District Public Comment Locations and Dates (remaining):
* SEATTLE: Wednesday, May 27, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Seattle Public Library (High Point branch), 3411 SW Raymond St., Seattle, WA 98126* CARNATION: Thursday, May 28, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Carnation/King County Library, 4804 Tolt Avenue, Carnation WA 98014* ISSAQUAH: Tuesday, June 2, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Issaquah/King County Library, 10 W. Sunset Way, Issaquah WA 98027
Two weeks till the first-ever Seattle International Film Festival showings in West Seattle (June 5-11), and one week since we first mentioned the Admiral Theater party we’re co-promoting to mark this WS cultural milestone, we’ve got some major RSVP’s: Admiral entertainment director Dinah Brein-McClellan says the Seafair Pirates are on board, for starters. (During a brainstorming session at which the nautical theme – natural for The Admiral, and also for the fact the opening-night film slate includes “The Admiral” – West Seattle Chamber of Commerce CEO Patti Mullen suggested the Pirates had party potential.) SIFF boss Carl Spence also is expected to be there, in honor of the renowned festival’s first-ever partnership with a West Seattle venue. Last week, we extended Dinah’s invitation for your ideas about what else might make this a memorable party (early evening, open-house format, before the 7 pm “Admiral” showing on June 5th), and it’s not too late for you to suggest something – leave a comment here or e-mail 
Dinah, dinah@admiralentertainment.com. And if you’re making plans to attend SIFF screenings at The Admiral, remember that ticket sales for the 25 movies are all done through SIFF, *not* the Admiral, and you can buy them online. The movie slate is here; ticket sales start here; special multi-show ticket deals are detailed here.
Thanks for all the photos sent while we were away from the keyboard for a while doing a political interview for our ongoing election coverage! Don’t know who to credit for the low-tide cameraphone photo above – but, as mentioned in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, today kicks off a run of minus tides, which “peak” with -3.6 on Sunday and Monday (in comparison, the low tide this morning was -1.1). Next – Charley Biggs sent a photo of this morning’s sunrise:
And from Marco – the city’s “Pothole Rangers” in action – not technically West Seattle, but see his explanation after the photo:
Not West Seattle, but a lot of us ride that way on our bikes: The Pothole Rangers are currently repairing the many potholes on the bike lane of E Marginal Way S.
So I just wanted to shout out a huge thank you to them (I did, when I rode past them, but I’m not sure they could hear me over their machines ;)
So together with the beautiful weather, this makes Bike Month an even bigger success!
Got pix to share? editor@westseattleblog.com any time – whether it’s a spectacular sunrise, a breaking-news story, a cool event at your child’s school … thanks!
Since the weekend won’t be over for many till Monday night, this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup covers four days – with events including the opening of new Junction restaurant Fresh Bistro tonight, several big events on Saturday including opening day for Colman Pool, the first-ever West Seattle Edible Garden Fair and the Alki Community Wildlife Habitat Certification Celebration on Saturday (plus a bike-trail cleanup and a car show), special events (including wagon rides!) at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sunday, and the traditional West Seattle community Memorial Day Service at Forest Lawn on Monday afternoon … more than 40 events in the full West Seattle Weekend Lineup, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club:Read More
That’s the All-City Band in last summer’s West Seattle Grand Parade; now young musicians are invited to be part of this popular group led by a West Seattleite:
Seattle Schools All City Band is actively welcoming new members to join its ranks.
The band is composed of 9th-12th grade students from over 15 different schools in
the greater Seattle area. Students come together each summer to perform in this
marching band which has been a staple of Seattle’s summer celebrations since 1951.
All City Band performs in upwards of 16-20 parades and community events during a six
week period, entertaining hundreds of thousands of people each summer.We have no auditions for membership; all we ask is that members are enthusiastic
about being a part of a group where everyone wants to be there, and are committed to
trying their best. Our talented staff of college and university band members, all
former members of the All-City Band themselves, will work with you to teach you
everything you need to know to be successful, and help you to take your musicianship
and showmanship to the next level.Students participating in the All-City Band program can earn a .5 high school credit
which can be applied to either fine arts or physical education. More importantly,
our program provides students with a great way to maintain their musicianship during
the summer months.Feel free to explore our website,
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/allcityband/index.dxml. If there are any
unanswered questions, do not hesitate to contact our director, Marcus Pimpleton,
Denny Middle School music director, at (206) 252-8993 for more information.Band members develop a great sense of pride, share the experience of being a part of
a great group of young people, and return to their school bands as better and more
enthusiastic participants. Come to our first rehearsal to learn more about our
program and consider becoming a part of the All City Band family. It?s a blast!Rehearsals start at 6:30pm on Tuesday, June 23, at Memorial Stadium.
Additionally we are constantly looking for new events to add to our schedule
including corporate pep bands to raise funds to support our program and
transportation costs. Should you need a pep or marching band for a corporate event,
wedding, private party, or any other event, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Amanda sent that photo of a bike just like the one her 7-year-old daughter was learning to ride, till someone made off with it, because she’s thinking maybe you’ve seen it somewhere:
My daughter Zoe was just getting the hang of riding her bike when it was taken right from our front yard on 31st Ave SW and Elmgrove in the Westwood neighborhood. It’s a blue Trek Mystic with training wheels and a white basket in front. We’ve asked around the neighborhood and kept our eyes peeled for it, and I’d love some West Seattle help in getting it back.
If anyone has seen it or has any information, please have them call 206-234-8929, email me at asburleson@gmail.com or simply bring it back home: 7947 31st Ave SW. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
WSBers helped reunite a stolen bike and its owner earlier this year (see the third item here plus comments), so anything’s possible.
The police discussion detailed here (with more to come later today) took up most of the Alki Community Council‘s meeting last night, but there also was a quick update on “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets,” formerly known as Car-Free Day, coming to Alki 9 am-5 pm Sunday, May 31st – one week from this Sunday. As we’ve mentioned before, the first part of the day involves the first-ever West Seattle 5K (WSB sponsor) – a run/walk to raise money for local public schools (register here). Then, from roughly noon till 5 pm, Alki will be open for walkers, runners, bicyclists, skateboarders, etc., between 63rd SW and California Way – a few blocks longer, on the east end, than last year:
The city spokesperson at Thursday night’s meeting said that like last year, a lane would be open for “residents-only” motorized traffic. He also said no one would be towed (as was the case last year – warnings were issued early in the day and ultimately most violating vehicles cleared out). The list of planned activities and displays continues to lengthen – you can see it on the official event website. A couple Alki residents noted resignedly at the Thursday night meeting that while the waterfront boulevard itself may be mostly “car-free,” people still drive to get to the event, and fill up side-street parking as a result.
At 7 o’clock this morning, the first attempt will be made to land the space shuttle Atlantis, piloted by West Seattle High School Class of ’72 alum Gregory Johnson, 11 days after its launch. The weather might be dicey; the shuttle has two “landing windows” this morning at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and if things don’t look good for either one, it won’t get to try again till tomorrow. Get the latest here. 11:38 AM UPDATE: Neither of today’s landing opportunities worked out, so NASA decided to try again tomorrow – 6:16 am our time is the first window.
By Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
It might have been the beautiful evening weather, or maybe the convoluted topic, but only one person — perennial district-property-sale opponent Chris Jackins — showed up at tonight’s Seattle Public Schools public hearing at Gatewood Elementary School to take comments on the pending sale of air rights at Jefferson Square.
The school district will continue to own the land and the commercial buildings, but, because of a lawsuit (explained in this WSB report), is planning to sell the air rights — not any buildings or land. The school district receives $173,226 annually in rent for the commercial property, and that will continue.
The air rights will be sold for $500,000. The school board is expected to vote on the proposal July 1.
Ron English, deputy general counsel for the school district, said the district doesn’t own the apartment buildings, but it owns the air that they are built in. The building owner is leasing the air rights through 2083.
English said he sees it this way: if the district doesn’t sell the air space, they will own a building come 2083. If they do sell, they have $500,000.
The money from the sale could be used for capital improvements, but not for teacher salaries, said English.
Jefferson Square, which includes a Safeway and Bartell Drugs, is built on the spot where Jefferson School once stood. The brick schoolhouse was named after President Thomas Jefferson, according to school district history. It was enlarged with a new addition in 1928.
The school closed in 1979. The property was declared surplus and leased in 1982 for 99 years
to a developer who demolished the brick building in 1985 and built Jefferson Square shopping center and apartments on the site.
We won’t be able to get full details from prosecutors till tomorrow – but wanted to let you know that the bail’s been raised for the 31-year-old man arrested in connection with the Morgan Junction-area hate-graffiti vandalism: Originally there was one “property destruction” count listed on the jail register, with bail of $380; tonight, six property destruction counts are listed, with $5,005 total bail.
(From left, SPD Capt. Joe Kessler, Alki Community Council officers Paul Carr and Randie Stone)
ORIGINAL 7:13 PM REPORT: At the Alki Community Council meeting, Lt. Steve Paulsen is talking about summertime police presence and of course the May 1st shooting — in which, he has just revealed, another suspect is still being sought. Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler is here too, and acknowledging “it’s not acceptable to have children shooting children.” He says they’ve been “working on some additional plans” regarding possibly obtaining more overtime funding for staffing in areas such as Alki, but adds that “the key for us is, we look at it on a daily basis.” The captain and lieutenant are taking questions now. Capt. Kessler says the shooting victim on May 1st was “an intended victim.” (The 17-year-old suspect is still in jail, in lieu of $250,000 bail.)
ADDED 7:44 PM: One question: “What was the deployment the night of the shooting?” Capt. Kessler acknowledged there were no officers in the immediate area where it happened, but said there were officers in the area, such as down Harbor Ave; Lt. Paulsen added, “That call flushed the precinct” (which had officers ready for the imminent next shift change). Capt. Kessler adds that Community Police Team Officer Ken Mazzuca is primarily assigned to Alki for the duration of the summer – “this is his place” – and says he’ll be on his bike sometimes, confirming there will be additional bicycle-officer presence too.
8:19 PM UPDATE: Many of the questions are related to what can be done if they are being hassled or feeling threatened by beach visitors – that’s being voiced more than concern about out-and-out crime. The police leaders here have had to say, there are no laws against “being rude” or “saying a vile word,” unless it veers into a threat. More info from the meeting as it happens.
Just received from the Southwest Precinct — publishing it as-is, since Highland Park is a “burglary hot spot” right now as reported during our coverage of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council the other night:
A burglary pattern has been identified by SW Detectives affecting the Highland Park Area of West Seattle. Even though the Highland Park neighborhood has been the recent targeted area, this activity can have other West Seattle implications if residents do not remain vigilant to suspicious activity.
The basic M/O for these particular burglars is as follows,
• Car carrying 2-4 A/M males parks in the neighborhood.
• Passengers exit car and begin to walk neighborhood. Driver stays in car.
• Passengers approach houses and knock on doors to see if anyone home, or to see if surrounding neighbors look out windows.
• If no answer at door, the suspects walk around the house and rap on windows loudly enough to elicit a response from surrounding neighbors or the homeowner.
• If no response from either the home owner or surroundings neighbors, the suspects walk to back of house and rap on rear door a final time.
• If still no response, suspects force entry via any accessible door or window. Suspects look for anything of value that is small enough to exit with without attracting attention, and easy enough to sell on the street within a day or two.Residents can assist police by reporting any activity in their neighborhood they believe is suspicious in nature. If residents observe any activity in their neighborhood that is consistent with the M/O list above, they should call 911 to at the very least, allow police to attempt to identify the persons involved in the suspicious activity. If possible, residents should attempt to be good witnesses by writing down susp descriptions and plate numbers.
Received this from the Technology Access Foundation, which has a major student event in White Center next month:
On June 13, 2009 Technology Access Foundation (TAF) will host our Robotics competition for TechStart, our after school program. Six classes will be participating: five from Highline (grades 4th-6th) and one from Seattle. (Grades 6th-8th) The event will take place at the White Center Boys and Girls Club, 9800 8th Ave. SW, Suite 105, from 9 AM to 1 PM. The students will be required to build robots that compete in four events:
1. Tug of War (head to head) (30 minutes)
2. Archery – 2:30 for each run w/ 5 min between rounds (35 minutes)
3. Basket Bot (16 minutes)
4. Drag Race (7 minutes)
The verdict’s in at the trial of three teenagers who attacked Southwest Precinct Officer Jason McKissack in High Point last June: Guilty, according to this seattletimes.com report, which also says they face no more than a month in jail when they’re sentenced in June. McKissack is still on leave, recovering from injuries including getting kicked in the head (we summarized the police report in this WSB story last June).
That’s Micah Shapiro from Grindline, the firm designing the future Delridge Skatepark, explaining its newly unveiled “schematic design” to the Seattle Design Commission this afternoon at City Hall downtown. We’re expecting a digital copy soon so we can give you a closer look at the design, but this will have to do for now. It has one “bowl” with both beginner- and expert-suited areas, and the half-circle-shaped park will have “skatable paths” around its perimeter. Design Commission members were unanimous in their approval of the “schematic design,” which won’t make way for a “final design” until after one more community meeting (which project manager Kelly Davidson said today is expected to happen in late June), though they did ask for a safety feature between the skatepark and the nearby wading pool so that small children don’t dash from the pool into the skatepark’s bowl. Commission members also were impressed by what the project team described as the “phenomenal public support” for the skatepark; Davidson said she hasn’t received a single call from someone upset about it – instead, she said, she keeps getting calls asking when it’ll be done. As for the answer to that: First, the funding has to be nailed down; as reported here recently, even though the original funding was taken out of the city budget, replacement money has been found from two sources: $500,000 saved from two other Parks Department projects (including the Hiawatha Playfield renovations) that came in under budget, and $250,000 in Parks Levy dollars that will be moved from a proposed “skate spot” at Myrtle Reservoir (where neighbors previously expressed strong opposition to a skate feature), if the Parks Levy Oversight Committee (which meets next week) and City Council approve. Delridge Skatepark would be about 12,000 square feet, which the project team says would roughly tie with the upcoming Seattle Center skatepark for second biggest in the city (largest is the recently opened Lower Woodland Skatepark, at 17,000 square feet).
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