West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
In case you missed the first announcement Jan. 23 or the numerous mentions here since — if you have anything even resembling an opinion about, or a stake in, what is decided about rebuilding Denny Middle School and renovating Chief Sealth High School — the essential questions being whether or not they will share a campus, and how much of a renovation CSHS will get — Monday night is the first of two meetings whose importance cannot be overestimated. (Official flyer here.) In one sense, everyone in West Seattle has a stake in this — technically, if you look at where the $125-ish million is coming from, everyone in the city does (district documents describe this as “the most expensive project the District has attempted”). But if you can’t get motivated on that level: Is there a child of any age, high school or younger, in your family? Is there a chance you’ll become a parent someday? For the entire West Seattle peninsula, there are two public non-alternative middle schools and two public non-alternative high schools; what’s involved in this decisionmaking process comprises half of that. Think about it one more time before you conclude you don’t care much about how this turns out. The meeting is in the Chief Sealth Library on Monday night, starting with a “gallery walk” 6:30 pm where drawings can be viewed and one-on-one conversations can be had before the meeting starts at 7 (more here). After this meeting, the Westwood Neighborhood Council has its panel discussion on the project Feb. 12 (news release here) — also an important meeting — then on Feb. 13, the School Board will be presented with the recommended choice, prior to what is billed as the final vote Feb. 27. To get a sense of some of the discussion, check out the comments in just about everything posted here in the WSB Denny/Sealth archive (link here; find that link anytime from the WSB Categories list in the sidebar at right), but the comments that the district says will matter the most are the ones it gets at and after Monday’s presentation. (Board contact info here.)
SIDE NOTE – WHERE’S THE OFFICIAL WEB INFO? The drawing atop this post is from the Westwood Neighborhood Council site, posted last summer. This is because background info is difficult if not impossible to find on the Seattle Public Schools website; Denny-Sealth is not even on the “current issues” list on this resource page (though the West Seattle HS schedule issue is); the only project page we can find on the SPS site offers a couple of bullet points here, pointing to a “project update” page here that says “Updates coming soon.” In October, the district promised a special website at buildingexcellence.org (see the flyer at the bottom of this post and see the district rep’s comment here) … it’s still not up. We have messages out to the district to ask if there’s somewhere else we should be looking. (Just discovered that School Board member Harium Martin-Morris posted Jan. 24 in this thread on his blog that he was “working with district staff” to get the drawings up on the district site. That was nine days ago. We can upload a Power Point presentation or pretty much any other doc to this website in a matter of minutes.) 6:50 PM UPDATE: We did get same-day responses to the notes we sent today to the district’s communications leadership and to West Seattle’s school board rep Steve Sundquist. He says he’s not aware of anywhere that the latest schematics/info can be found now on the district website but expects it will be updated in tandem with Monday’s meeting and is calling the project manager to check; district communications manager Patti Spencer says, “The schematics absolutely should be up on the Web but don’t know if they are. I apologize on behalf of SPS. The BEX Websites are created and maintained by the BEX staff. I don’t think there is anything I can do to make that happen over the weekend, but will talk with Fred Stephens to see if we can get something posted on Monday – latest Tuesday. I know that Fred is totally committed to providing easy-to-access and timely information.”
While the “Painted Lady of Beach Drive,” aka the Satterlee House, remains listed for sale after a year and a half, city hearings are now scheduled for a proposal to build three homes on its sprawling front lawn. According to the city Hearing Examiner’s Office website, proceedings are scheduled to start March 5 with what the site describes as “testimony from David Satterlee on the appeal of William Conner from a Denial by the Landmarks Preservation Board for a certificate of approval for construction of 3 homes on property known as 4866 Beach Dr. SW.” (David Satterlee sold the property to William Conner in 2000.) The HEO site says March 10 and March 13 also are set aside for proceedings in the appeal. The short plat for the land was granted in May of last year; last word we had of Landmarks Board involvement was in July of last year. The house is one of a handful of officially designated landmarks in West Seattle (full list here).
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Wii is not just for kids, and the Delridge Library will show you why at 10:30 this morning; other one-time-only West Seattle events today/tonight include the Seattle Majestics‘ karaoke contest — see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for the full rundown on what’s up.
TRAFFIC REMINDERS: SDOT will be doing significant work today at two sites in West Seattle, as announced yesterday afternoon: California/Othello paving here, Admiral medians here.
LOOKING AHEAD TO VALENTINE’S DAY? The latest newsletter from Skylark offers this: “Skylark is hosting a Valentine’s Day ‘Cheap Date Night,’ filled with free music; homemade spaghetti & meatballs; garlic bread and a bottle of red or white wine all for just $32 per couple from 5 pm to 10 pm.” Read more here.
PICTURES WE’VE BEEN MEANING TO SHARE: During a busy week full of news, they wound up on the back burner, but if you’ve got a minute, take a look:Read More
Todd e-mailed to alert everyone that his car was broken into — “again” — tonight @ 21st/Roxbury. He asks, “When will these little brats learn that I keep NOTHING in that car?”
That’s Mo, a Chow mix who lives with Cammie Owen — after being rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, plagued by mange but ready to thrive in a new home. You would think the hurricane would have been enough of an ordeal that this dog should have had smooth sailing ever since, but then came a sudden, life-threatening sickness:
That’s Mo just days ago, his belly shaved after an ultrasound, as vets tried frantically to figure out what was wrong with him. Cammie says they believe he ingested rat poison — and she suspects that happened at Westcrest Park, where she has put up warning flyers. And she says he’s not the only dog that runs there that’s gotten sick:Read More
Tonight we welcome the newest WSB sponsor: The West Seattle Rock Club, advertising here to let you know about their biggest event of the year — free to the public! — the West Seattle Rock and Gem Show, coming up February 16-17 at the Alki Masonic Temple in The Junction, featuring not only displays of rocks and gems, but also demonstrations and family activities. (Read more here.) The club’s been in West Seattle since 1965, and meets monthly, with other activities including rockhounding field trips. But you don’t have to be a hobbyist or any kind of expert to attend and enjoy the annual show; check out photos from last year’s Rock and Gem Show on this page of the WSRC’s website. We thank the WSRC for choosing to promote the Rock & Gem Show by advertising on WSB; if you’re interested in joining them and our other sponsors, please visit this page.
We have been working today on a story about a dog that got very sick after running in Westcrest Off-Leash Area, and its vet and owner suspect rat poison may have been to blame. While we are continuing to work on those details for a longer article you will see here in a little while, we have just received what looks like a followup on the Fauntleroy Park poison concern we posted here two weeks ago. This was forwarded from the Partners for Animal Welfare newsletter, quoting another organization’s bulletin:
This notice just came in via Pasado Safe Haven’s e-mail newsletter the week of January 28th . In looking into this a little more on the web, unfortunately people may be trying to poison the many coyotes that have been spotted in the area, but your dog might very easily pick up the food or treats being left out. Please watch your dogs while at any park in West Seattle!
NEWS ALERT JUST PHONED IN:
Reported Poison in Fauntleroy Park, West SeattleIf you walk your dog in Fauntleroy Park, in West Seattle, please be warned; multiple dogs have ingested poison in the park! Apparently the poison is in dog food, bones, and other dog treats. These enticing treats have been found under bushes and throughout the park. Please be careful and let anyone you know who goes to Fauntleroy, know also. Thank you!
Just as we were reading that e-mail, we got a call back from the Parks Department employee we’d called about Westcrest, Carol Baker. She tells WSB the department is NOT aware of any NEW incident of suspected poison having been found in Fauntleroy Park since this report on Jan. 14. More later on that and also the Westcrest report (we have spoken with the owner of the dog in that incident, which is recovering, but in the short run, if you take your dog to that park, sounds like it would be a good idea to keep very close watch to keep it from ingesting anything).
Just a couple hours after the announcement (see below) of SDOT work at California/Othello tomorrow, we just got another alert from the city — regarding work on the Admiral medians (December photo above) tomorrow, and beyond, including a request for input on the median trees when work crews return a week later:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox, from the city Transportation Department:
SDOT crews will replace concrete panels in California Avenue Southwest, between SW Othello Street and SW Orchard Street, tomorrow (Saturday, February 2), if weather permits. Work will start at 8 a.m.
Northbound and southbound traffic will be allowed through this block of California Avenue, alternating between the two directions of traffic with the assistance of a traffic flagger. The sidewalk on the western side of the street will remain open for pedestrians; crews will repair the sidewalk on the eastern side. SDOT will reopen all of the lanes of traffic once the concrete has cured, depending on weather conditions, no later than Sunday night.
The work is needed in order to restore the pavement following work on underground utilities.
This is in Gatewood, acrosss from Seattle International Church, about a block south of Caffe Ladro (map)
(Photo by Emeline Chabanne, courtesy Gansango Music & Dance [2007])
The Gansango show tonight at SSCC is one of 31 West Seattle weekend possibilities you’ll find listed ahead (including free yoga as a Super Bowl alternative, a fundraising bake sale this afternoon, a free Wii class for grownups, a karaoke contest, and more):Read More
Quick update ahead of our police-report check at the Southwest Precinct later today — Lt. Steve Paulsen confirms the arrest of one juvenile in the Admiral rock-throwing incidents, as Meredith reported last night; he confirms they are still looking for the two other suspects but know who they are looking for.
Less than a week after West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor) broke ground for its multipurpose building, the latest Land Use Information Bulletin from the city (subscribe here) includes the permit application for Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s new Parish Administrative Center. This will be built at the site of the existing offices, north of the parking lot (which is at the northeast corner of 35th/Myrtle; the green rectangle at the top right of the art shown above from the church’s online brochure). According to the OLG website, it’s part of a two-phase project, first building the administrative center, then a parish Family Life Center. (We reported the capital-campaign kickoff last March.)
Another local kids’ sports league starts registration today: the West Seattle Soccer Club‘s spring season. It’s open to players ages 5-12, and it’s a fairly low-impact commitment – games on Sunday afternoons, no practices, various fields around West Seattle; the season starts April 6 and runs for six weeks (no games on Mother’s Day) — $40 per player. You can register any time from now till March 1 by going to the West Seattle Soccer Club website (click here), where you will also find lots of news about the league — which has a fall season too (with almost 1,300 players last year!).
More than a year in the making, Spring Hill Restaurant and Bar in The Junction — west side of California, north of Oregon, next to Seattle Fish Company — is getting closer to opening. We got a bit of new info earlier :this month when Spring Hill advertised for a maitre d’; since then, its proprietor, Chef Mark Fuller, agreed to answer some quick questions by e-mail, such as whether his establishment will follow the recent adults-only trend in West Seattle and what kind of food it’ll serve:Read More
Just out of the inbox from Meredith:
Just seen at Grayson & Belvidere (just north of Admiral): Three police cars with one teen in custody (Caucasian, about 14-years-old). Chased down after caught throwing rocks at cars. Officer says this kid, plus two others have been reported in 20-30 incidents along the Admiral Way corridor (37th – 41st). Two kids still at large, reportedly around 14- to 15-years-old, one Hispanic, one with longish red hair. PLEASE alert drivers for their own safety, and ask residents to keep an eye out for these kids. Their actions could case an accident, perhaps a death for one of those b*****ds speeding up the hill. Kids are also suspect in the knifing of a neighbor’s tires, theft from vehicles in the area, and rocks thrown thru home windows.
The area and description are similar to the 1/11/08 reader report we published on the Crime Watch page, involving a brick thrown through a front door, after three teenage boys were seen “cruising” the area.
23-year-old Rey Davis-Bell (photo left) has just been booked into the King County Jail within the last 40 minutes, according to the KCJ register, for investigation of homicide, assault, and drive-by shooting. Almost every citywide source that has posted about this has a different nugget – the Times has the most thorough information on his criminal background, for example. It’s been widely reported that the Longfellow Creek Apartments unit on Delridge where he allegedly fired shots through a window 
yesterday morning (photo from WSB contributor Sage K) is where his girlfriend lives; exactly what ties he had to the Central District restaurant where he is accused of opening fire half an hour later, killing the restaurant’s owner and wounding another man, is still not clear, though the owner’s niece is quoted as saying her uncle did “know” Davis-Bell somehow. The suspect was captured after a manhunt that is said to have involved more than 100 officers, many of them out on the streets all night.
As you may recall, the community-building organization Megawatt decided last month to disband, but its leaders were hopeful that its legacy, and its best-known events, would carry on, with new organizers. As just officially announced in Megawatt’s last e-mail bulletin, that’s going to happen:
Megawatt’s Legacy Lives On
Megawatt is thrilled to announce that the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day and the Gathering of Neighbors will continue in 2008 and beyond under new leadership.
The West Seattle Blog is the new organizer of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. Tracy Record and Patrick Sand have a lot of creative ideas for this beloved West Seattle event. Check out the West Seattle Blog at www.westseattleblog.com for ongoing updates.
The Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association will take on leadership for the Gathering of Neighbors. DNDA is a trusted West Seattle steward and under their guidance GON will continue as an inspired community event. Contact Derek Birnie at www.dnda.org for more information.
Megawatt is officially signing off. Thank you for making all of this important work possible.
Here’s to community. Here’s to West Seattle.
Congratulations to Megawatt founder Mary Ellen Cunningham, her board, and their colleagues for everything they’ve accomplished. And to DNDA for taking on Gathering of Neighbors, which is an awesome way to find out more about community resources and opportunities. And now, about those garage sales — We are thrilled that Mary Ellen and the Megawatt board decided to trust WSB with Community Garage Sale Day. It’s something that truly and literally all of West Seattle can be part of – as sellers and/or shoppers (and we’re hoping for some community partners in other roles too) – and something that also can draw people from other areas to come visit our fabulous peninsula. Plus, we can all talk a lot about it online before, during, and after. Megawatt created an instant tradition by launching this event in 2005, and we hope you will help make the 4th Annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day ’08 a ton of fun. If you were a seller or buyer last year, and you have a thought on what you hope won’t change and what you think would make it an optimal experience, please leave a comment here or e-mail us any time at a special mailbox we’ve set up: garagesale@westseattleblog.com. Oh, and mark your calendar – we want to continue the Megawatt tradition of scheduling this for the second Saturday in May – that’ll be May 10th, 2008! We’ll talk more about this soon, and we’ll set up a forum topic when it gets a little closer.
Sanislo Elementary has just made it onto the city Department of Transportation “Safe Routes to School” project list, two months after students appeared with council members discussing the Pedestrian Safety Initiative along Delridge (WSB video coverage here). Here’s the full announcement, just out of the WSB inbox, which also mentions the sidewalk work under way for the Arbor Heights Elementary area:Read More
Two things, actually. First is that we actually got a coyote PICTURE for the first time after all these coyote reports. Thanks to JF for sending the photo taken this week of his neighborhood’s “resident coyote.” Second thing, the Discovery Park coyote just got a reprieve. According to this article, instead of trapping/killing the coyote, authorities will work on educating the public to co-exist with wildlife.
So says KIRO TV. Looking for more details now, such as where they found him; other citywide media are now (12:23 pm) confirming the arrest, but no location yet. Slog says police will announce more details at 1:15 pm. 12:29 PM UPDATE: KING just reported the arrest was made at 40th & Cloverdale – they didn’t include a street direction (S or SW) though – we’ll check further – our money’s on S since SW is within earshot of us and we haven’t seen/heard anything. 12:37 PM UPDATE: Tony says in the comments on this item that KOMO reports MLK/Elmgrove as the arrest location (here’s a map), which isn’t far from 40th/Cloverdale, so we seem to have established it happened in South Seattle. 12:42 PM UPDATE: Confirmation on that. 1:43 PM UPDATE: More details in a just-updated Times story, which has yet another slightly different version of the arrest location (3700 block Cloverdale). (Previous reports: Here’s the original coverage yesterday; here’s the update early today about police finding the suspect’s car.)
You see their boats in WS waters, their choppers in the WS sky, now see their first vodcast.
Nine days till the caucuses, and we’d wager that after the most recent dropouts, the field of remaining candidates is not likely to shrink further before then. In addition to the West Seattle caucus info we already have reported (most recent update here) we have word of some West Seattle-specific campaigning: Local supporters of Sen. Barack Obama want you to know about two websites (there’s Alki 4 Obama and West Seattle for Obama); a local Ron Paul supporter is planning a round of sign-waving on Saturday. (Just noticed Paul is in Seattle today, by the way.) If you have West Seattle-specific info about people campaigning for any other candidate, please let us know; we’ve Googled, and trawled candidates’ websites, but nothing else is coming up so far.
So says KOMO (location shown on this map). However, as of now, the suspect is still on the loose (see his photo in our earlier coverage). 6:40 AM UPDATE: No arrest reported yet.
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