West Seattle, Washington
21 Friday
Seattle Public Utilities says its first week and a half of recycling, yard/food waste, and trash pickup changes has gone relatively smoothly, with a half-percent miss rate for home customers and five percent for apartment/condo/commercial customers. It’s expanded the call-center hours so that if you’re missed or have some other problem, you can reach someone at 684-3000 7:30 am-7 pm weekdays, 9 am-1 pm Saturdays. SPU also says it has “inspectors” trailing crews to check for trouble. (Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
We’ve received several tips/inquiries about this: We just called Seattle Fire Department to find out about what started as a medic response to 11th SW/SW Spokane (map). Spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen confirms it was a fatal fall from the West Seattle Bridge. She says the person pronounced dead at the scene was female. It would be up to an investigation to determine whether this is confirmed as suicide; while we had three reports of bridge deaths in 2007, we had none (this is from our archives, not a check of official records) in 2008; one person died beneath the Admiral Way bridge over Fairmount Ravine in March of last year. As we’ve said before, suicide is an epidemic that needs to be addressed, not ignored as is the policy of some media, so we report about it here as well as homicide cases (which are outnumbered in King County by suicides). For those who have thought about it — the local Crisis Clinic is there to help: 206/461-3222. There’s a national hotline at 800/SUICIDE.
7:06 PM: Wanted to repost a haunting comment just left by Lisa:
It must have been about 12 and I was heading home to West Seattle when I saw the woman as she leaned over the bridge edge, but I was two lanes away and called 911. By the time I reached Harbor Ave. the dispatcher was calling fire and police, when I got to the water taxi I heard them say there was a injured woman on Spokane and 11th and I knew we were too late. I saw her face, shining black hair in the sun, pink shirt……I am so sorry for those who loved her.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The Medical Examiner’s Office confirms this was a case of suicide. The victim was a 52-year-old woman.
This item was going to be part of our forthcoming wrapup of various campaign speeches at last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting, but we’ve just received a response to a followup question we sent City Council President Richard Conlin, so we’re breaking it out: During his campaign speech to the 34th DDs (photo left), he mentioned the jail issue – Seattle teaming up with several other cities to pursue a potential new municipal-misdemeanor jail, with the potential sites including West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way SW – and told the 34th DDs: “… siting a new jail … is a terrible idea; we should only have to do it if we absolutely have to do it. I’m encouraged by a significant decrease in the King County jail population (recently) … we’re going to be sending King County a letter asking to reopen discussions about accommodating misdemeanants, so that we won’t go ahead (with a jail) unless we are ABSOLUTELY SURE we have to.” In other words, Conlin intends to ask a question others have posed before: Can’t the county keep handling misdemeanor inmates, at least a while longer, since their jail population in general has been dropping? We e-mailed Conlin this morning for a followup, and he replied:
Councilmember Burgess and I have decided to send this letter, but not sure yet whether it will be just from us or from the whole Council. We just made the decision this week and have not drafted it yet, but expect to do so shortly.
(Councilmember Tim Burgess chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee.) Officially, as noted in our coverage of recent Highland Park Action Committee meetings, the jail-site search is in the environmental-review phase. (WSB coverage of this issue is archived here, newest to oldest.)
We’ve heard about this now from Karen and Lela (who sent the photo) — when the latest round of street-sign-replacing work started sweeping through West Seattle recently (as noted here), at least one sign wound up causing an unintended side effect — this one on the northwest corner of California/Edmunds in The Junction (map) is blocking the view of the pedestrian signal. We’re checking with SDOT to see if a fix is in the works (and to make sure it’s being reported via the proper SDOT number).
1:53 PM UPDATE: Heard back from Rick Sheridan at SDOT, who says: “Calling 684-ROAD is the best option for this type of issue or any other roadway related problem. But I will talk to the sign replacement team about the northwest corner of California/Edmunds and we will correct the issue.”
3:25 PM UPDATE: And as noted in comments – the visibility problem is being taken care of, with a crew on scene within the past hour. Karen, one of our original tipsters, sent this photo (thanks!):
Just posted in the never-a-dull-moment WSB Forums – a request for used cooking oil from someone who wants to make their own biodiesel fuel. Can you help? Go here.
That’s one of two West Seattle projects with actions listed in today’s semiweekly Land Use Information Bulletin: the finalization of Design Review approval for a 3-story office building at 2743 California SW, the parcel immediately north of PCC (notice here). Note: The lines in the image above are NOT part of the design, but were from the markup on an image we pulled from the official January DR meeting for this project (see the full presentation here – warning, it’s a massive file, 67 MB). Also on today’s list, approval for subdividing 4133 25th SW (map) into two lots (see the notice here).
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: As previewed here Wednesday, 40 venues are offering art, many with treats, all over West Seattle, 6-9 pm tonight. Get the map here.
DESIGN REVIEW: Two projects to be reviewed tonight at Madison Middle School: Transitional Resources‘ 2988 SW Avalon project at 6:30 pm, 4532 42nd SW at 8 pm.
EASTER/HOLY WEEK EVENT LIST REMINDER: Maundy Thursday services at some West Seattle churches today/tonight are part of what you’ll find on this special page we’ve put together (including all the egg hunts we could find – Saturday’s the biggest day).
FREE CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP: Thinking about remodeling or building? Longtime WSB sponsor Ventana Construction has a few spots left for its free workshop tonight, 6:30 pm (outlined here); RSVP or questions, 932-3009.
NOT IN WEST SEATTLE, BUT WE’RE PART OF IT: If you’re interested in the ever-lively discussion of how the news-media world is evolving, we hope to see you downtown tonight for the second No News Is Bad News event, this one focusing on new types of online ventures – such as WSB (your editor here is on tonight’s panel, along with other journalist-entrepreneurs, including two former P-I employees involved with new ventures) — and how they figure into the evolving media landscape. 7 pm, Bertha Landes Room at City Hall , free but organizers would love to have you RSVP now to save a spot.
Congratulations to the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) volunteers who just celebrated reaching their goal in the Partners With Youth campaign. Shown above, from left, are campaign chair Tish Hesse, board chair Walter Reese, executive director Josh Sutton, Volunteer of the Year Craig Anderson, and associate executive Samantha Bowes, photographed at this week’s YMCA of Greater Seattle annual meeting at Sodo Park (which is run by West Seattle-based Herban Feast). Josh reports:
Thanks to the generosity of over 2,000 individuals and businesses in our community, Tish Hesse announced the successful completion of our West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA’s Partners With Youth campaign. This has been a tough year for fundraising, but our volunteers and donors combined to make sure kids, teens and families in West Seattle have access to the programs and services they need. Our 160 volunteers raised $410,370 on a goal of $410,000! All of those funds stay in West Seattle, providing 4 full time YMCA staff in Sealth, West Seattle High & Madison Middle schools to help students achieve, scholarships for over a thousand families in child care and camp programs, and other essential services.
Our Annual Meeting also offered an opportunity to recognize our 2008 Volunteer of the Year, Craig Anderson of NUCOR Seattle. Craig spent hundreds of hours organizing, planning and running NUCOR’s Golf Tournament – a huge event last June with more than 140 golfers. He helped turn what had been a fun tournament for vendors & staff into a fundraiser for the Y, establishing a new $45,000 NUCOR Seattle YMCA Endowment to send low income kids & families from West Seattle to Y Camps for years to come.
We’ve introduced you to three West Seattle “Shop Cats” so far — Seth at West Seattle Nursery (story here) and Presta and Schrader at Aaron’s Bicycle Repair (story here). Along the way, a few people have asked if we plan to highlight “Shop Dogs” too – we’d planned to wait till the “Shop Cats” ran their course, but then Rock Steele sent us the photo above, and this caption:
This is Baron with his person Scott Goerig – owner of Redline Music and Sports on 35th Ave SW just south of Avalon. Baron can be found most days at the Redline greeting guests as they arrive, checking to make sure that everything is OK and policing the floor between naps.
Thanks, Rock, Baron, and Scott! Meantime, we’ve already got more “Shop Cats” in queue – watch this space. (And one plug for a Shop Cat with a special event coming up – West Seattle Nursery’s spring open house is this Saturday, April 11th, more info on the WSN website.)
Another quick update from the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting under way now in Fauntleroy: Port of Seattle Commissioners Lloyd Hara and John Creighton spoke to the 34th DDs tonight; among the many topics they’ve touched on, the port’s goal of chipping in $300 million for the Alaskan Way Viaduct-replacing tunnel. “How can we do that when port traffic is down and air traffic is down?”
(Creighton at left, foreground; Hara at right, background)
Creighton answered his own question by saying they’re looking at options such as $30 million a year for 10 years, maybe selling off assets such as the Bell Harbor Conference Center on the downtown waterfront — “why does the Port need a conference center?” he asked, again rhetorically — but said they’re doing all they can to figure out how to make the contribution without raising taxes (though Hara had noted earlier that the port does NOT currently use all of its taxing authority).
(photo added Thursday courtesy of Georgie Bright Kunkel, shown with husband Norman Kunkel at right, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott at left)
From the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting, which we’re covering right now at The Hall at Fauntleroy: Condolences to West Seattle writer Georgie Bright Kunkel (of Rosie the Riveters fame, among other things) and family on the death of her husband, 90-year-old Norman C. Kunkel. His obituary is on the 34th DDs’ website; he was a longtime Democratic PCO in the district. He and Georgie were married for more than 60 years, and they wrote a book together about his World War II experience as an Ambulance Corps driver and concentration-camp liberator. His memorial service is set for 3 pm April 18 at Saltwater UU Church in Des Moines. More later from the 34th DDs’ meeting, where County Councilmember Larry Phillips has just pitched his County Executive candidacy (though the group endorsed County Council Chair Dow Constantine in the race at its last meeting), and City Council President Richard Conlin is among those who will be speaking shortly.
Till 8 pm tonight, Kiwanis Division 26 volunteers are at the White Center Food Bank (which serves part of West Seattle, too), collecting donations. As mentioned before, food-bank donations count for extra through the end of this month because of a special nationwide partial-match program – so if you take food/money to them now, it’s worth even more than face value. Here’s a map to WCFB. We’re off to get a photo.
ADDED 6:16 PM: Photo added atop the post — that’s Barbara Connor from the Rainier Valley Kiwanis, taking first watch at the donation station in the WCFB parking lot. Just drive right in off 8th SW – it’s a drive-up food drive to boot! Again, they’re there till 8 pm.
Click that image for a full-size, printable version of the map/venue list for tomorrow night’s West Seattle Art Walk (6-9 pm, every second Thursday of the month). 40 venues are participating this time, from Alki to Delridge to Fauntleroy and many points inbetween, including Admiral, where Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) – will offer art, real estate, and shopping deals:
With a common appreciation for modern architecture and design, it’s a perfect match. During the West Seattle Art Walk, the real estate professionals of 360 Modern will have a festive meet and greet hosted by Click! Design That Fits in the Admiral District of West Seattle.
Guests can talk shop with fellow modern design fans, perhaps laying the groundwork for a future move with help from the local modern authorized agents of 360. Also during the event, all Click! purchases are 15% off! and the beautiful encaustic and oil paintings of Kate Fluckinger
adorn the walls. (Sorry, discount does not apply to the artwork.)
Meantime, “food can be art” is part of the message behind a photography display at C and P Coffee that you’ll see as part of the Art Walk; “What Feeds Us” photographers Sally Shintaffer and Poppy Barach are also known for writing the website Mixed Greens (featured on the WSB Blogs page, too). One more preview:
That’s art by Karl Addison from partybots.org, and you’ll see it at Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction during the Art Walk. Wine and cupcakes are promised too; here’s the official description of what he’s showing:
Karl Addison has been exploring the idea of over-population, saturation, and the dynamics between individual identity versus the selfhood gained and lost when one becomes part of a union. For this show, Karl will impregnate the back gallery of twilight with a superplethora of mustachio boxes. The mustachio boxes, each having individual personalities, that when viewed together in this overpopulation become something all together different.
An ardent naturalist, Karl Addison uses earth-friendly products in all his endeavors.
(Other photos of his installation are on this Flickr page.) More information about tomorrow night’s artists can be found on the official Art Walk site — along with detail on some of the places you’ll find treats (like champagne and chocolates at Clementine!).
As reported last week (quick version here, in-depth version here), the Conner Homes project at California/Alaska/42nd is going back to Design Review for the fifth time – with one last issue on the table: The overall “massing” (shape, etc.) of the building that’s right at the Walk-All-Ways corner. The city planner on the project, Michael Dorcy, just confirmed that the meeting will happen April 23 (6:30 pm, location TENTATIVELY set for the same place as last time, West Seattle Christian Church in The Junction).
Hat tip to the Daily Journal of Commerce for reporting new information today about the Whole Foods/Hancock Fabrics site’s prospective buyers, following our report yesterday that Seattle Capital confirmed a deal IS still pending. Following up today, we reached Matt Segrest, who was quoted in the DCJ story (only available by subscription) – and here’s the statement he provided WSB (note that the name “Fauntleroy Place” is not mentioned):
The West Seattle Whole Foods site is currently under contract to be purchased by Alamo Manhattan, LLC. The firm will lead an investment team to purchase the property. Alamo Manhattan will also serve as the developer for the project. The project will feature a 45,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market, a 15,000 square-foot Hancock Fabrics and 184 apartment homes. Construction of the project began in Summer 2008 and all shoring and excavation work has been completed. The project is temporarily on hold as Alamo Manhattan is evaluating the transaction. No significant design changes from the Design Review Board approvals are anticipated.
“We are conducting due diligence regarding the purchase of the property and continue to be excited about the opportunity,” said Matt Segrest, Principal of Alamo Manhattan. “Negotiations are currently underway with multiple investors on the project. We expect to select an equity partner soon and be positioned to restart construction in the third quarter of this year.”
A resident of West Seattle, Mr. Segrest views the project in both professional and personal terms. “Of course I’m interested in the investment side of the opportunity, as I think it is going to be the crown jewel of the Alaska Junction for at least a generation. Additionally, having a large hole in the ground at the most visible location in my neighborhood is undesirable for me as well as my friends and neighbors. The opportunity to invest in my own community and to make a meaningful contribution to its urban landscape is particularly compelling to me.”
Matt Segrest is the Principal of Alamo Manhattan, LLC, and has been responsible for over half a billion dollars in new development throughout the West Coast, including over 1,750 luxury apartment and condominium units and approximately 76,500 square feet of mixed-use commercial space.
We have a request out to the site’s original developers, BlueStar, for comment, as they had told us they hoped to continue developing the project post-sale, as well as saying their other proposed projects in West Seattle (the Spring Hill mixed-use building south of The Junction (which concluded Design Review last September) and Gateway Center at the old Huling Buick showroom site) were hanging in the balance depending on what happened with the Whole Foods site. Also, as for more information on Alamo Manhattan itself, no website yet but the parked domain alamomanhattan.com is registered to Segrest.
3:43 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Easton Craft from BlueStar. He says they cannot comment on the Whole Foods site purchase situation (as we’ve reported previously, they are suing the site’s current ownership), but, regarding the other two West Seattle projects: “We are certainly working on the other projects we have in West Seattle – clearly the economy has caused a delay but we hope to move forward as quickly as possible. We hope that as we move into the next few quarters we’ll see enough (economic) recovery to move forward.”
And in fact, that’s the URL – thehistoricadmiraltheater.com – lots of info about upcoming special events as well as a link to the page where you’ll find their regular movie offerings.
From the WSB Forums, and now on TV – a KING 5 story this morning features West Seattleite Pamela Brumell‘s quest to reduce cat overpopulation by trapping feral cats so they can be spayed/neutered. See the story here – and note that she’s looking for translator help.
From the city’s daily “permit issuance” list, a permit’s been granted for Chase signage to go up at the West Seattle Thriftway WaMu branch; we just went down the hill to check – the illuminated “runner” is already up inside the branch; the sign over the door is in transition; the WaMu sign on the outdoor storefront (photo above) is all that remains. WaMu/Chase has five West Seattle branches in all (counting the Junction drive-through).
That’s Todd Carden of Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub, — a mainstay in The Junction for 12 years — accepting the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s “Business of the Year” award this morning. WSCC members and guests gathered at Salty’s on Alki for the annual awards breakfast, at which County Council Chair Dow Constantine presented the awards; he was one of three political leaders in attendance, along with City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Nick Licata. Introducing EBB owner Carden, Constantine listed the company’s distinctions, particularly in environmental stewardship — first King County brewery to go organic, first in Washington with two organic breweries (there’s an EBB in Burien too), a trailblazing composting program. Carden said he was happy to first hear of the award (reported here March 11) but it didn’t really sink in until he and his wife were visiting stops on the West Seattle Art Walk the next night and “people started congratulating me left and right.”
Also honored this morning — the Community Service Award recipient, Robinson Newspapers founder Jerry Robinson (who, it was revealed after his acceptance speech, turns 89 next Monday). With the trademark humor familiar to readers of his column, he quipped that others might have deserved the honor more — perhaps Rolf Neslund, the ship captain whose collision with the old West Seattle Bridge in 1978 broke a longrunning logjam over whether to build a new one. (Elliott Bay proprietor Carden later joked he might have to name a future beer after Neslund.) Jerry Robinson founded the White Center News in 1952 and bought the West Seattle Herald in 1974; at one point, not that many years ago, he tried to retire, but admitted he felt a bit “useless” in his temporary life of leisure, saying, “Nothing is as fulfilling” as being of service to others.
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s regular monthly meetings are listed on its website at wschamber.com.
From the WSB Events calendar:
FOOD DRIVE: Tonight’s the night Kiwanis Division 26 volunteers will be at the White Center Food Bank, 5:30-8 pm, hoping to see you drop by with donations of nonperishable food ($ donations welcome too). Here’s a map.
DRINKING DIALOGUE: Last week, we brought you the story of Chris Volkmann of Olympia, who has written a book with son Toren Volkmann about his teen (and beyond) drinking days. She is funny and practical, not preachy, and told us she hopes families will “just come have a dialogue” as she and Toren, now 26, speak at Madison Middle School tonight at 7 pm.
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Last meeting, they endorsed County Council Chair Dow Constantine in his run for County Executive; tonight, they hear from one of his opponents, County Councilmember Larry Phillips. A resolution about “clean campaigns” is on the agenda too. 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy.
6:30 pm May 14 is the date tentatively set for The Kenney‘s $150 million redevelopment project to return to Design Review, location TBA – this according to an addition late Tuesday to the “upcoming reviews” page. This fits right in with what The Kenney’s CEO Kevin McFeely told us recently (as reported a week ago). This will be its fourth Design Review meeting; the third one, three months ago (WSB coverage here), ended with the project moving out of the “early design guidance” stage.
During our four fun hours at the Gathering of Neighbors on Saturday, we published a bit of news resulting from a chat with Pete Spalding, who (among other things) is on the new Parks Levy Oversight Committee: Pete told us a series of public meetings was about to be announced, giving you the chance to speak out about how you would like to see some of that money (particularly its $15 million “Opportunity Fund” for community-generated projects) spent. Tonight, we get word from Pete that the dates/times/locations of four open houses are now set, including, as he said, one meeting in West Seattle: 7-8:30 pm May 6, West Seattle Golf Course. (The other 3 open houses: 7 pm 5/4, Rainier Community Center; 7 pm 5/12, Green Lake Community Center; 7 pm 5/13, Parks HQ downtown.)
The WSB Twitter page is a snapshot at any given time of the most recent Twitter messages – “tweets” – from anyone anywhere mentioning West Seattle. We check it often because it offers WS tips and trivia beyond the people we get to interact with via the @westseattleblog Twitter stream. Interesting group of tweets at the moment – singer Lily Allen is still in Seattle after her Showbox show last night and put out a question a few hours ago to her 125,000+ Twitter “followers” – “Where’s good for steak in Seattle?” Among the replies, our WS-specific Twitter sampling shows, four people quickly recommended JaK‘s in The Junction (and this search shows a few more). Lily then tweeted an hour later “Bout to get my meat on” – no word yet (even via Twitter) whether she did that here.
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