West Seattle, Washington
26 Friday
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli shows SWAT team members, with shields)
Just got word from the scene, the standoff is over. Relatives tell WSB it started about 1 pm when the suspect tried to cut himself with a knife; a relative called 911, and the standoff ensued from there. Again, according to what we have been told at the scene, no one was hurt, and things in that area (5400 block of 31st; map) should begin returning to normal.
UPDATE: Here’s some pictures from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli.
Just after 1 pm the initial response included a City Light truck.
That’s the house where the suspect lives. It’s about 100 yards west of 31st. Police kept residents and the media on 31st and allowed no one to go no further for the first hour – except the suspect’s aunt, who went in with a negotiator:
About 30 minutes before the standoff ended, neighbors were allowed back into their homes:
ADDED 7:18 PM: This video clip shows an unusual side effect … two school buses that needed to get through the area, which is on a narrow, steep street, and had trouble getting around everything from police to fire to TV crews:
We’ll keep updating the item below on the 31st SW standoff as info/pix become available. Sometimes these things go on a long time, however, so two other things to share in the meantime: First, a reader report that the third suspect in this morning’s Admiral burglary-suspect case (original report here) has apparently just been apprehended; will work to confirm with police. Second, Robin Williams is coming back to Seattle and will again donate “artist’s proceeds” from one show to the West Seattle Food Bank; more information here. (He did the same thing around this time last year; WSB report here.)
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Heavy police presence including SWAT team at a house in the 5400 block of 31st SW (map). It started as an assault with weapons call; we don’t know if anyone is hurt, but neighbors tell WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli there’s been trouble at the house before. One person is reportedly inside; it’s just a standoff right now. 2:35 PM UPDATE: Here’s what else Christopher and another WSB team member on the scene have learned — According to family members, no one has been hurt; the weapon involved is a knife. Police negotiators arrived a few minutes ago and are either talking to the suspect or trying to talk with them. Obviously this is an area to stay well clear from until it’s all over; we’ll have photos/video later. 2:55 PM UPDATE: Police have allowed some nearby residents to go back into their homes. 3:27 PM UPDATE: Word from the scene – it’s over, ended safely. Separate post to come.
One of the business/group sites participating in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, Freshy’s Coffee in Admiral (across from Hiawatha), caught our eye on the state’s latest list of liquor-license applications, as it’s seeking a beer/wine license. We e-mailed proprietor Amber to see what’s up:
Realistically I’m just wanting to extend my hours and allow people to come and have a glass of wine or beer or coffee while they are studying, or working or hanging with friends. I’m wanting to do more art shows or Ms. Pacman and Galaga tournaments or whatever. I’m open to anything. I think the space is super cozy at night and would like to provide an alternative to just going to bars.
As for Garage Sale Day, Amber notes that she hopes to have a “flea market” feel, and that this coincides with the monthly “Homemade Brigade” arts/crafts show/sale she’s been having. Freshy’s is one of three coffeehouses with group sales — the others area Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) and C and P Coffee. (We’ll continue to spotlight WSCGSD participants between now and sale day – check out westseattlegaragesale.com for some of what we’ve already mentioned, and to download and print out your copy of The Map! which is actually three area maps plus all the sale addresses/descriptions.)
6-9 pm tonight, the next monthly West Seattle Art Walk, with (as noted earlier this week) a record number of participants – and more of West Seattle involved than ever, from Admiral to Delridge (Bubbles!) to businesses south of The Junction. See the map here; list of venues (and special events you’ll encounter along the way) here. Speaking of maps, the Art Walk venues include two places you can pick up a copy of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map if you can’t print out your own — Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) and Capers — but please do print it yourself if you can (the link’s here), to save preprinted copies for those without printers/computer access; thanks!
ALSO WHILE YOU’RE ARTWALKING – HAVE YOU SUGGESTED A MOVIE YET? Six ballot boxes are now up at West Seattle shopsif you want to suggest a film for Movies on the Wall this summer but don’t want to do it online (see this special WSB page; we’re a co-sponsor this year). Read on to see not only where the boxes are up, but also how the movie-deciding is going so far:Read More
First, regarding the report two nights ago regarding someone taking pictures and claiming it was for a West Seattle High School assignment — this comment just came in:
I am one of 2 photography teachers at West Seattle High.
We do ask our students to take landscape and portrait pictures that they find beautiful, so if you see students wandering and taking pictures of each other, random people or pets (they should ask first), bushes, trees, pretty houses, architecture, they may very well be doing their coursework. However, the story of the mother taking pictures of a car is not in line with any assignments I am aware of, and just sounds weird. Students shooting pics during the school day should have a signed note from one of their teachers, indicating permission for them to be outside shooting: you can ask to see this if you feel they are acting inappropriately, and please, contact the school with their name and location if they are. Students with inappropriate behaviors of any kind should be reported immediately to the WSHS Main Office.
Second, from that same night, the ants/power pole meeting in North Delridge – we have a little more information:Read More
(video added @ noon, quick look at police presence at scene)
ORIGINAL REPORT: Just in from a reliable tipster:
Attempted break-in 37th north of Admiral
Three black male teens – looked about 16-17 yrs old
Two PERHAPS apprehended on Admiral Way bridge over ravine
Police in neighborhood looking for third suspect
Remember, if you see anything/anyone suspicious, CALL 911 – police reiterate this over and over. More on this when we get it. 10:25 AM UPDATE: The WSB team member on the scene reports two suspects are indeed in custody by Merrill Gardens/Admiral Heights and being questioned now, after first having been spotted in the Metro Market vicinity. More later. 12:17 PM UPDATE: A few more details from Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct, who confirms the arrests and promises more info later:
We just arrested 2 burglary suspects ..They were 3 all together, one got away….tied to two burglaries in the Admiral neighborhood. Great work by all. … All juveniles who don’t live in West Seattle.
Just two days till the big day, and now you can see who is selling what where. Go here. 9:42 AM UPDATE: Just got e-mail from someone who says he is part of a group coming here from the YAKIMA VALLEY! for WSCGSD. Re: the weather – if you read the “forecast discussion,” the chance of rain on Saturday keeps getting pushed back later and later in the day.
The proposed West Seattle sites for a new city jail came up at tonight’s meeting of the Southwest District Council — representatives from neighborhood groups and other major organizations around the area of West Seattle that the city calls the “Southwest District” (map of all “districts” here) — but it didn’t attract as much discussion as the issue of money for parks. We’ll publish the jail update later; first, tonight’s park $ talk, plus your next chance to have a say on the future of West Seattle (and the rest of the city) parks:Read More
We’d been working to confirm this one after a tip; police hadn’t been able to confirm the identities for us, but apparently it made tv news tonight: Husky Deli owner Jack Miller chased after a robber who stole a local real-estate agent’s purse in the lot behind his business a couple nights ago. The agent reportedly broke three fingers trying to stop the thief; her purse was recovered but the thief hasn’t been nabbed yet.
During the recent barrage of “legit or not?” door-knocker/solicitor concerns, we’ve often thought that it would be helpful for organizations to send out advance word when they’ll have people canvassing … especially now that neighborhood-level media is on the rise and sites like ours could get that word out. Well, without us even having said it aloud, here comes an example of someone doing just that — Derek Birnie at Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, which is preparing for the gala Delridge Day events on May 31, wants you to know this:
Trust these doorknockers!
Despite the worry and fear that some recent doorknockers hare inspired in WSB readers, we want folks to know that those young people knocking on your door this Saturday and next are legitimate; please welcome them!
Every Friday, a group of inspired young leaders meet at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to help establish direction for the programming there. This programming committee has taken the lead in developing the program for this year’s Delridge Day and Open House at Youngstown on May 31.
Those emerging community leaders will be knocking on neighborhood doors this Saturday to extend a personal invitation to attend this free event. We hope their enthusiasm and courage will be met with friendly faces!
So, there’s something else happening Saturday, besides the Stamp Out Hunger letter-carrier food drive (be sure to leave a bag out by your mailbox or mailslot), West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, Pathfinder K-8 sprucing-up, Admiral Adopt-a-Street Cleanup, Seattle Walks, and more happenings you’ll find on our Events page. By the way, DNDA sent along two flyers: here’s the one for volunteer help between now and Delridge Day, and here’s one for the DD event itself.
Water Without Waste’s founders from left to right: Elma Borbe with Sound Transit, Shauna Causey with Comcast, Felicia Kline with WaMu, and Paul Whyatt with Weyerhaeuser stand with Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin (center, seated) as he signs the Water without Waste pledge.
Since Water Without Waste kicked off its cut-your-plastic-water-bottle-use campaign earlier this spring (we told you about it after an Alki Community Council presentation in March), they’ve gotten pledges equivalent to 20,000 fewer water bottles. Here’s the full announcement:Read More
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli wandered the West Seattle shores during this afternoon’s mega-low tide — lowest of the month — to capture images like those, and a few more you’ll see ahead:Read More
As mentioned here last night, the city has narrowed its list of potential municipal jail sites to four, and two are on the eastern edge of West Seattle, as seen in city aerials above — Highland Park Way/W. Marginal Way (map) and 9501 Myers Way (map). For those seeking more information and opportunities for feedback, a new section is live on the city website (here’s the start page) with everything from the reason why the jail’s needed, to the rationale behind the site-selection process, to how to send in feedback (online form here). The timeline for the process (choose a site this year, open in 2013) is outlined here. As pointed out in this WSB Forum thread, the jail proposal may well come up at tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting (7 pm, President’s Board Room at SSCC) since Councilmember Tom Rasmussen will be there; we just checked with his staff and he doesn’t have an official position yet on where the jail should be built (the two non-WS options are Interbay and 11762 Aurora).
We asked SDOT what they were, we asked SCL, got nowhere, but finally the answer comes from one of our fellow community-news websites, MyBallard. Those mystery poles with two solar panels and a sensor belong to the Traffic.com network (this photo is from 99; there’s also one near Walking on Logs). We should have known this because our last “old media” employer, KCPQ, was a Traffic.com affiliate, and we knew they were expanding their detection network (which figures into travel-time calculation among other things) onto some of the roads not previously covered, like the Viaduct and the WS Bridge. (Traffic.com’s “latest incidents” updates, by the way, are permalinked from the WSB Traffic page, which also has West Seattle-relevant traffic cams.)
Just out from the city:
Weather permitting, Union Pacific Railroad will begin work this Saturday, May 10, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., removing, repairing and replacing railroad tracks and concrete approach panels on S Spokane St between 11th Ave SW and Klickitat Way on Harbor Island. Flaggers will direct traffic onto access roads around the work site. The work will be accomplished in three phases over the next three Saturdays. For more info please contact Jamie O’Shea at joshea@roadsafetraffic.com
No garage sales on Harbor Island, luckily; just stay on the peninsula and literally shop around.
This comment just came in below our report on last month’s contentious Alki sidewalk-project meeting; no one will see it on a five-week-old post, so we’re highlighting it here. From someone signing themselves “CS”:
As a property owner on Alki Beach – well, the enforcement of the sidewalk has already begun. We’ve been ticketed twice for parking on the “sidewalk†this past week, although we’ve been parking there without issue for decades. I called Parking Enforcement but their stance is – it was always illegal, and now we’re enforcing it due to public (anonymous) complaint. I called Theresa Casper, the Project Manager for the sidewalk proposal, but she denied having anything to do with it (ya, right). So there is no way for property owners to expect formal notice – if people start complaining – the police will start ticketing. However, our property extends into the water. We have never bothered enforcing the right to prevent people from walking on the beach. But we will now. So – the public can take the sidewalk back – but the property owners will take back the beach they own and you can bet I will be reporting any trespassers on it from now on.
In mid-April, the city told us design was proceeding, for now, on the sidewalk extension that the waterfront property owners are fighting, but hadn’t yet figured out how to handle one homeowner’s question about a process for getting the project stopped; sounds like it’s time for a check back with SDOT.
We have just posted a three-part update at the official West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day site (westseattlegaragesale.com), including the prizes confirmed for the contests (both contests are open to sellers; one is also open to shoppers!) and the latest on The Map. Final confirmed count: 144 sales! If you have time to browse through the WSCGSD site, we’ve been posting some infobits about sales, participants, and more.
Somebody breathlessly called WSB HQ early this morning to report this sighting on the lawn @ Pathfinder K-8 along Genesee Hill. We’re not just all about fire trucks and teardowns; we love happy photos too, so we were glad to head out for a look. If we were a betting person, we would suspect it has something to do with the big event coming up Saturday (update: actually it’s for Teacher Appreciation Week), and the flamingos remind us we hadn’t published the latest news release from the fine folks @ Pathfinder about the event, some advance work done last weekend, and how you can be part of Saturday’s festivities:Read More
LOWEST TIDE: Beach Drive Blog notes it’ll be another great afternoon for low-tide lovers. According to the May tables, it’s the lowest tide of the month.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Two guests are scheduled tonight at this monthly meeting of representatives from neighborhood groups and key organizations: West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, and Fauntleroy resident Ron Richardson, best known for the sign outside his house but currently advocating for public campaign financing (he stopped to talk with us about it at the Sustainable West Seattle Festival last weekend). The meeting’s at 7 pm in the President’s Board Room @ South Seattle Community College, all welcome.
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Its monthly meeting is at 6:30 tonight at the Delridge Library, and one of the items on the agenda is West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day — the NDNC is one of two local neighborhood groups having fundraising sales on Saturday; its sale at 2512 SW Genesee will raise money for tot-size equipment at Cottage Grove Park, while elsewhere in east West Seattle, the Pigeon Point Neighborhood is having a sale at 19th/Genesee to raise money for Cooper Elementary. Back to NDNC and its meeting tonight – lots more to be discussed, too.
Been meaning for a few days to photograph the “Developer’s Dream” real-estate sign on that house (1774 Alki; can’t find a listing or price online). Didn’t notice the smaller sign till we downloaded the pic.
Seems like it’s important to say first, we’re not sharing these types of reader reports in the spirit of having everyone freak out about the motives of every stranger they encounter. But from the comments and discussions, there seems to be power in people sharing this kind of information in this way — even if it’s just to gain knowledge and reassurance. Maybe someone out there knows what these incidents were really about and can enlighten everyone. So, toward that end, two more unusual sightings — this time involving people taking pictures — read on:Read More
Listed on 911 log as “fire in single-family residence”; just heard scanner traffic describing it as “exterior house fire.” Thanks to Todd for the tip. Off to check it out. Map here. 8:58 PM UPDATE: Our person at the scene says it’s no big deal; the fire crews “didn’t even break out the hoses.” However, traffic’s being rerouted – for now, anyway – at 16th/Barton.
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