West Seattle, Washington
28 Wednesday
WSB’er Joe just e-mailed to ask if we would put up a photo of, and info about, a missing Lake Stevens woman who happens to be the mom of one of his co-workers. No known West Seattle tie but since Joe asked, absolutely. You may already have heard about this from citywide media – the website set up to help the search mentions stories done by TV stations and newspapers. Joe says maybe someone from here happened to be up at Stevens Pass last weekend and might have seen her. Connie Marie Koch is 62 years old and hasn’t been seen since Thursday.
From SDOT, shared in the interest of the many West Seattleites who drive through SODO:
Royal Brougham Way is now closed east and westbound between 4th Ave S and Occidental (map). The closure will continue through to late Saturday, April 4. A signed detour will guide motorists. Pedestrian access will be provided on S Royal Brougham Way. The closure is necessary so crews can relocate utilities and prepare for bridge pier construction for the SR 519 project
Dropped by Southwest Youth and Family Services in North Delridge this afternoon to catch the moment as Sue Mariotti (right) from the Admiral Safeway BECU presented a check for $1,000 to SWYFS, officially accepted by Donna Chapman (left). The money will support the Parent Child Home Program, a SWYFS program that will provide family support this summer to 44 “very low income” Latino, African-American, Somali, and Iraqi families with 2- and/or 3-year-old children. Cara Kroenke of SWYFS explains, “Children living in poverty often miss out on active play and exploration which could enhance their development,” so toward that end, each family will get to choose up to six “field trips,” such as libraries, beaches, or environmental-education parks such as Camp Long, also receiving “developmentally appropriate toys/books reflecting the theme of the field trip.” BECU, by the way, also is a sponsor of SWYFS’s next annual fundraising event, which is now a dinner/auction rather than the traditional breakfast – the date is set for September 18th, with other details to come. Find out more about SWYFS – which is also our area’s lead agency for the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative — at its website, swyfs.org.
From longtime WSB’er “timeslid“:
Well, it happened to our car last night. Some really fabulous human rifled through our car last night. Nothing is missing other than the car cheese knife. It was really fun to come out to all the contents of the glove box strewn up the street. This was between Lander and Stevens on 38th (map). I thought I locked the door, but I guess I didn’t.
Also from the City Council meeting that’s under way now, 3 more items of West Seattle relevance: First, after hearing an explanation from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen regarding the significance of the Admiral Way/SW Manning parcel, the council just voted 7-1 (Richard McIver was the “no” vote) to approve the new plan to open a public discussion of the site’s fate. As first reported here earlier this month, the Parks Department is now willing to take over the site, which once was targeted for possible sale. We’ll let you know how to participate in the public discussion, once details of the process are outlined. Second, the council has just finalized appointments to the new committee that will oversee how the money’s spent from the Parks Levy approved last year; members from West Seattle are Neal Adams, Cindi Barker, and Pete Spalding. Third, councilmembers have approved rezoning for part of the High Point development (6800 31st SW is the official address) that Councilmember Sally Clark described as “correcting an oversight” from long-ago rezoning action. Details are in items 26 and 27 on the agenda.
The full City Council just made it official: You will vote August 18th on whether to approve or reject the ordinance that would require a 20-cent fee to be charged for every disposable shopping bag you use. Without discussion, councilmembers voted 8-0 to put the referendum on the ballot (approving this item).
We were just in The Junction at Hope Lutheran Church/School working on a followup to this weekend’s announcement of a joint operating agreement between Hope and neighboring Seattle Lutheran High School (more on that later), as well as touring Hope’s almost-finished expansion work, and happened onto this group in the church basement, assembling about 150 Easter baskets. Hope’s Human Care Ministries leader Mary Anne DeVry explained that they go to local seniors and also to new local arrivals including immigrant families working with a Lutheran program assisting refugees. The baskets contain treats and a few practical-but-fun items too, from scarves to stuffed animals. Mary Anne says the project started about a decade ago when someone offered the church a carload of discarded, empty Easter baskets and said “can you do something with them?” The answer – “we’ll figure something out.” Now, it’s a tradition. (Reminder, as mentioned yesterday, we’re collecting info now from all over West Seattle for our Easter services/brunch/egg hunts lists – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)
THE GROUCHOS: This is at least the third year that Groucho Marx faces have appeared in the bridgeside greenery of Pigeon Point. This news comes from Mark Bourne, who chronicles the sighting here and even wrote about them for Film.com last year.
GARBAGE TRUCKS: Not only did some trash/recycling procedures and pickup dates change starting today, WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli noticed something else:
He says that’s the first time he’s noticed one of the new “powered by natural gas” trucks, and adds, “You can’t really tell from the video but they are noticeably quieter than the old ones. They are also the cleanest garbage trucks I have ever seen.” We found a little more information at the Waste Management Seattle website — actually an excerpt from an earlier city news release about the new solid-waste contracts: “Sixty percent of the (WM) trucks will run on a bio-diesel blend and 40 percent will run on compressed natural gas.” Remember, if you’re STILL confused about the changes, you can find more info here or call the city’s “customer service” line at 684-3000.
BONUS SIGHTING: Moments after we published this item, we received a note, with pix, re: yet another interesting sighting — Larry Nitkey wondered if this was a “bridge to nowhere”:
Still looking for complete verification but 99% sure it’s for the Hood Canal Bridge project, judging by what’s in this Sunday article. (Note that the bridge’s six-week construction shutdown is just a month away – it starts May 1st.)
This already has been pointed out on the comment thread following the Sunday story, but here’s the official announcement early this morning from the family of Payton, the West Seattle schnoodle stolen during a visit to Capitol Hill (original report here) – he’s back home safe:
I don’t even know how to describe what happened in the last 28 hours or so but my wife and I are in total disbelief. We just got our beloved Payton back. Apparently sometime around 9am this morning the thieves dropped him on a busy 4 lane road in Federal Way. 2 ladies on their way to church saw him and picked him up. They posted some ads around Federal Way but saw the clip on KOMO and called it in.
We learned a lot over the last day plus. One, as many people have suggested – don’t leave your dog in your car unattended. It’s simply not safe or worth the risk. We also learned how powerful a group of united friends and can be when called upon. We’re forever grateful to everyone who worked very hard today to help us get the word out. Within moments of getting home last night, our friends and family went to work and gave us the support we needed. Also, if it wasn’t for the West Seattle Blog I’m not sure we would have him back right now. Many thanks to you and your readers for your comments which ultimately led to KOMO reaching out to us about the story.
Lastly, the owner’s of Piecora’s were so helpful and caring and deserve a lot business their way. The owner came in (Sunday) just to get me the footage that SPD decided to ignore (as it was just a theft of “personal property”) so we could get it on air and out to people.
Thanks a million to everyone who showed their support.
Dan
TRASH/RECYCLING CHANGES: Today’s the day it all starts. If you’re like us and had Monday pickup before, they’re not supposed to show up till tomorrow. An online lookup tool is here (but it’s had a few reports of glitches). The recycling changes — more stuff can go in the bin, no more glass separation, etc. — are explained here. Remember that yard waste (including food scraps) is now picked up weekly. And if you’re confused, call 684-3000.
SPRING BREAK: Reminder that Seattle Public Schools (and others) are out this week for spring break, so you’ll see lots more kids around.
BAG FEE ELECTION VOTE: During the meeting that starts at 2 pm today (agenda here), the Seattle City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on putting the disposable-bag-fee referendum on the August 19 ballot. (If you’re new to this story, council members approved an ordinance that would charge shoppers 20 cents for each disposable shopping bag they use. A petition drive bankrolled by the American Chemistry Council [financial report here] was immediately launched to force a referendum vote on the proposal, so the fee hasn’t taken effect.)
In the final moments of the weekend — we’re sharing a short clip courtesy of Tim Roberts, who couldn’t resist capturing the cherry blossoms on video while out and about in the sunshine.
It’s easy in the news business to just let stories drop after the initial report – tougher to remember to follow up, and then to find the followup information. But we do our best to keep checking back, and in that spirit, wanted to let you know what happened in a few notable collision cases — these can be the toughest to follow up on, since a major collision may require weeks or months for the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad to investigate and then for prosecutors to review before a citation or charge is filed. Here’s what happened in two cases — months old, but both cases eventually resulted in Municipal Court-handled citations that haven’t been reported before:
That photo is from last September 4th, when a 15-year-old girl was hit by an SUV while crossing 35th at Juneau in High Point (map). She was out of the hospital within two days, but the investigation and review took months; finally, Municipal Court online records show, the SUV’s 40-year-old driver was cited for passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.
Just a few weeks after the 35th/Juneau incident, we interviewed the motorcycle rider who survived being hit by a minivan in Westwood earlier in the year:
Karen Derby told us the story of her recovery in the months following the June 15, 2008, crash at 30th/Trenton (her story here; original crash report here). Municipal Court online records now show that, also after a long investigation, the 19-year-old driver was cited for running a stop sign.
We are still checking on a few other past cases, including the deadly crash at California/Dawson last fall that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale and, much more recently, two Junction collisions, including the one March 9 in which a pickup driver hit 13 other vehicles, and we’ll let you know when there’s something to report regarding the aftermath of those.
SIGNS: SDOT crews have been back in West Seattle in recent days replacing more street signs – in a process that’s been under way for the past two years – and we noticed something interesting: Signs like this one, with an icon to signify “street” sections that are really stairways (this is on the east side of California at Hudson, just south of The Junction). By the way, the city is still selling the old street signs it’s taking down as the bigger, more reflective new ones go up: Inventory updates are posted periodically here (the one there now is dated January).
SCOUTS: Have no idea how often this happens, but we discovered belatedly that a slew of NFL scouts were at Southwest Athletic Complex in Westwood Saturday afternoon to watch Washington State receiver Brandon Gibson show his stuff in hopes of getting drafted. He played high-school football in Puyallup, which is why the Tacoma News-Tribune covered it (report with video here)
POTLUCK: Also from Saturday – Delridge Produce Cooperative organizer Galena White, speaking to attendees at the community potluck event at Youngstown Arts Center:
Next events (calendar here) in the ongoing process of trying to get the coop off the ground: A meeting Tuesday at Pearls on Delridge, and a table at the Gathering of Neighbors next Saturday, 11 am-3 pm at Chief Sealth‘s Boren campus – we’ve got a table there too (offering early discount registration for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!), so hope you’ll be there to find out more about 70-plus West Seattle organizations and businesses.
POOCH: As of today, you can get an online sneak peek at the City Dog Magazine cover featuring Sophia, the Italian greyhound who lives with High Point’s Wendy and Stephen Hughes-Jelen. (CDM is headquartered in West Seattle.)
With two weeks to go till Easter, here at WSB we’re doing what we do for all major holidays – making a 
special page so you can find West Seattle-specific information all in one place. We’re gathering information from websites and phone calls but also wanted to issue an invitation: If you’re associated with a church and you have its Easter service information, please let us know so we can make sure it gets onto that page; if you’re associated 
with a restaurant and you’re having Easter brunch, same invitation applies. Best way to reach us is e-mail: editor@westseattleblog.com – and if all the info is already on a page on your own website, just sending us that link is fine, you don’t have to retype it or cut-and-paste it. We hope to get the first version of this page up within the next 24 hours, but if you don’t see this till Monday afternoon or later — that’s OK, we’ll just keep adding info, as always. (Other Easter-related activities welcome too – we’ve already got various egg hunts listed on our Events page but let us know if you know of one that’s not there.) Thanks!!!! (Photo credits: Peeps from kimberlyfaye‘s Flickr page; beach group, WSB photo from local UCC churches’ 2008 sunrise service on Alki)
That’s Payton the schnoodle — whose person Dan Nicholson hopes everybody to be on the lookout citywide, after Payton was stolen from Dan’s car on Capitol Hill last night. Here’s his report on what happened:
Our 10 month old puppy, Payton (named after the Glove. In honor of my lost and beloved Sonics), was stolen from our car (last night) while we were dining at Piecora’s. He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and weighs 13.5 lbs. We were parked in their back lot and planned to go to the Beveridge Place in W. Seattle afterward as they allow dogs. I had to talk my wife into letting him come as I felt bad locking him back up after working all day. The camera photage literally shows them pull up, throw a boulder through our window, grabbed him and go. Fortunately they left our other dog. He’s our little buddy and basically we’re desperate to get him back. We’ll pay a reward to have him safely returned.
We’ve also pointed Dan toward our fellow neighborhood-news sites closer to the scene of the crime, including Capitol Hill Seattle. Call police if you’ve seen Payton.
(first of 2 WSB video clips of Denny Jazz Ensemble at last night’s dinner)
Denny Middle School‘s cafeteria sports a big blue neon sign on one wall: DENNY DINER. Last night, though, the “diner” became a jazz supper club for the annual Denny Music Department Jazz Dinner, which packed the house with a crowd enjoying food including gumbo, jambalaya, and barbecue from West Seattle’s own OK Corral, as well as music from not only Denny student performers but also Septimus and the West Seattle Big Band – as well as visiting musicians from Cooper Elementary:
(photo of Cooper musicians provided by Denny principal Jeff Clark)
A dessert auction was part of the program too – according to an announcement during the event, the desserts alone brought in more than $1,000. Denny gained renewed attention recently for its designation as an International School starting this fall, but its music programs have regional fame thanks in no small part to director Marcus Pimpleton, who not only leads music at Denny but is also the director of the Seattle Public Schools All-City Band, seen in parades everywhere in their distinctive green polo shirts. Another photo provided by the school shows him with some of the students between their sets last night (the Jazz Ensemble played at the start and finish of the event):
Also on the bill, the Denny steel-drum band (featured recently here) and acoustic musicians. Meantime, here’s another jazz clip from last night – sorry that our video quality is spotty but the audio’s good, in no small part thanks to the kids’ talent and hard work:
(The sax soloist is 6th grader Ryan Maroney.) The ensemble goes to the Reno International Jazz Festival in about a month; other Denny music events on the calendar include Marching Band Camp at the school during spring break next week (we published a feature about Denny camps at mid-winter break last year).
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is just back from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and reports that the daffodils promised in today’s “fresh list” weren’t there, but, he adds: “Lots of tulips though. And I did find this lovely young lady named Caity from Monroe … selling fresh eggs from her own chickens that she raises, feeds and takes care of. I bought a dozen for $6 and even found a beautiful green egg among them.” The Farmers’ Market continues till 2 pm at 44th/Alaska.
We first heard about it from Kathy (thank you!), who e-mailed WSB to say that she’d heard Dave Pedras, a paramedic/firefighter who lives in West Seattle, will be honored for his role in a rescue last summer. We checked with the Fire Department, and spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen said it’s true, sending along complete details:
Firefighter/Paramedic Dave Pedras will be recognized with a Unit Citation at the Seattle Fire Department Awards Ceremony which is taking place on Thursday, May 7. Unit Citations are awarded to units at the scene of an emergency for outstanding performance of an exceptionally difficult task, performance under hazardous or adverse conditions and for exemplifying the importance of teamwork and cooperation. Engine 33, Ladder 12 and Medic 28 received Unit Citations for the rescue.
On August 22, 2008 at around 8:30 pm, someone called 911 reporting that a person was missing in Lake Washington near Pritchard Island Beach. When the first Unit (Engine 33) arrived on the scene, they got information from bystanders about where the patient was last seen. Firefighters Dennis Stanley and Jason Hess (both of Engine 33) immediately entered the water and went out about 60 feet off shore to the area where witnesses had last seen the patient. After two to three minutes of searching, using a flashlight, Firefighter Hess was able to see a shadow below the surface. Firefighter Stanley dove down approximately 10 feet and found the patient and brought her up to the surface – she was unconscious and unresponsive.
Firefighters Stanley and Hess worked together to swim her back to shore. The patient was placed on a backboard – she was still unconscious and unresponsive and did not have a pulse. Firefighters and Firefighter/Paramedics immediately started CPR. The patient was quickly moved into a Medic 28.
Firefighter/Paramedics Dave Pedras and Dave Head of Medic 28 provided advanced life support and ongoing CPR with the help of the firefighters on the scene. Through the quick actions of responding firefighters and teamwork by all those who responded, the patient’s pulse returned. She was transported to Harborview, and 15 minutes after she arrived she had strong vitals and a good prognosis from the Emergency Room staff.
Kathy has firsthand knowledge of what happened after that, and says the rescued woman made a full recovery. Medic 28 is based at Station 28 in Rainier Valley.
An arrest in Tennessee will be welcome news for the congregation of Gatewood’s Peace Lutheran Church. Pastor Erik Kindem e-mailed the other day to call our attention to this seattlepi.com story about a woman mourning her murdered son, unable to leave the Tukwila motel where he was killed because she had nowhere else to go. Kindem knew the family and officiated at 24-year-old Kevin Camacho‘s funeral a week ago, in addition to seeking help for the family. Now there’s word from Tennessee that the suspected killer is in custody, awaiting an extradition hearing so he can be returned here to face charges.
Yogurt, daffodils, and order-taking for Easter ham/lamb are among the highlights promised by the Ripe and Ready list for today’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska). Also look for Friends of Junction Plaza Park, as they continue collecting pledges of volunteer help for the big push to get the long-in-the-works park done this year.
That’s the future site of ARK Memorial Park, just west and a little south of Arbor Heights Community Church, which owns the 8,000-square-foot parcel. Under and around that gazebo, a small but hardy group gathered Saturday afternoon for the ceremonial groundbreaking:
The young assistants are Isabella and Elliana Kimball, sisters of the park’s namesake, Alexandra Ramona Kimball, stillborn on the same day – March 28th – one year earlier. As Hal Kimball noted goodnaturedly during the downpour-graced groundbreaking, baby Alexandra’s initials are part of the double meaning in the park’s name:
AHCC says the park/playground will be for the entire community, not just for church families. As noted in our first story about the ARK Park plan last summer (see it here), this is a private project, not seeking city funding. So far they have raised more than $5,000, enough to begin the project’s first phase, but that’s just a start; next fundraising event is a spaghetti dinner at the church Fellowship Hall on April 18th (more info here). The timetable for construction depends on how the fundraising effort goes, but
After a discussion in the WSB Forums earlier today regarding the changes that kick in as of Monday, we checked with Seattle Public Utilities — and they told us that the collection-calendar lookup tool on the SPU website is now working. We tested it and indeed, it shows our new pickup day – although beware, it also suggests that day was in effect earlier this month. So ignore anything before Monday 3/30, but from thereon out, you should be able to verify your new pickup schedule here. Lots more info, from “what goes where” to how-to videos, is on the SPU site too.
GOT PLANTS? Local animal-helping nonprofit Furry Faces Foundation is getting ready for another season of fundraising plant sales (photo above is from one of its 2008 events) and has this request for you:
Donate Your Extra Garden Plants & Save Lives!
Furry Faces Foundation’s 9th Annual Plant Sale Season is in full swing. Funds raised from our plant sales support our ‘It’s Hip To Be Snipped’ program and ‘Oliver’s Fund,’ which assists companion animals whose humans are on a fixed income.
Do you have healthy plants that require division? Never made it out of the pot and into the ground? Are you (re)- landscaping & have extra plants? Looking for a good home for these plants? Please donate them to the animals.
Thank you for thinking of Furry Faces Foundation! For more information, please e-mail furryfaces@hotmail.com
F3 will start the selling with the Mother’s Day Hanging Basket Sale 10 am-4 pm May 2 and 3 in the courtyard outside Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) – for $20, pick out your own plants and build your own basket – “soil, hanging baskets, and caring coaching are all included,” Teri says. Then two weekends of even-bigger plant sales happen May 16-17 and June 6-7; more on those later. Now, our second note:
SUNSET SHOWCASE: West Seattle gardener and writer Willi Galloway is featured in the latest edition of Sunset magazine — you can see the pages on Willi’s site, DigginFood.com (one of the 100 West Seattle-based websites whose latest posts are linked from our Blogs page). Willi tells WSB, “We were super excited to represent Seattle — and West Seattle in particular — in Sunset!” Keep an eye on Willi’s site – she’s promising a series of reports on other West Seattle food gardens later this year. (Besides gardening and writing her own site, Willi also is West Coast editor for Organic Gardening magazine and a regular panelist for the Greendays gardening discussions on KUOW, 10 am Tuesdays.)
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