What Seattle Police do — and what citizens think about it
WSB reader Patrick e-mailed that photo today with this eyewitness report: “Yesterday about 6 police cars pulled up at Chief Sealth when students were let out; they questioned 2 students for about 15 minutes, looked in the bushes where they were questioned, and let them leave.” We don’t have information on what that was about — but it reminds us, you might not have heard about the survey released just before City Hall shut down for the 4-day holiday weekend: It’s the “biennial survey of attitudes toward police” in the Neighborhood Policing and Crime Survey Report. Here’s the page where you can find a link to the complete report as well as various summaries. We browsed it to look for West Seattle specifics; not many of those to be had, but we were quite interested in page 13 of the report, where traffic offenses and graffiti/vandalism — both discussed extensively, repeatedly, here at WSB — were identified as the crime problems noticed most frequently by citizens. On a related topic, WSB reader LyndaB passed along word that everyone is invited to the Police Chief’s Citywide Advisory Council meeting on December 11th (6:30 pm, West Precinct, which is actually downtown) to get details on the Neighborhood Policing Staffing Plan that the police department will start implementing in January.
West Seattle Thanksgiving ’07
The marquee over Java Bean on Avalon (photographed by Jerry from JetCityOrange; thank you!) says it all. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! We will be here with West Seattle news later in the day but for starters, here are the essential links as your holiday begins:
-West Seattle grocery store holiday hours are here
-West Seattle coffee shop holiday hours are here
-Free community Thanksgiving dinner: noon-3 pm, The Hall @ Fauntleroy (read more here)
-Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry changes (other routes too) are here
-City reminder about parking
-City reminder about trash/recycling
We are thankful for countless blessings including your support of, and participation in, WSB!
Holiday reunion: Bike and owner?
From the inbox, Stephanie writes:
Yesterday I found a bike lying at the corner of Beach Dr and Oregon (right next to Me Kwa Mooks Park) with no one around to claim it. It’s either a mountain bike or a “hybrid”. I thought it might have been stolen, so I thought I’d let you know so you could post it. I’ll be happy to return it to anyone who can give an accurate description of it.
E-mail WSB if you think it’s yours, and we will forward to Stephanie; we’ll be right here keeping watch through the holiday.
Where to get your Thanksgiving morning latte (etc.)
So many years, we have found ourselves driving around in search of someplace to get espresso, early, before we start crafting the homemade stuffing and all that. So in hopes of saving you a similar gas-wasting experience, here’s what we have so far, in alphabetical order, for tomorrow’s West Seattle standalone-coffee-shop hours, from a combination of in-person visits and phone calls:
Alki Bakery, closed
Bakery Nouveau, closed
Bird on a Wire, open 8 am-1 pm
Bubbles on Alki & on Delridge, closed
Caffe Ladro, open till 2 pm
Capers, closed
Coffee to a Tea with Sugar, closed
Cupcake Royale, open 8 am-2 pm
Diva, open till 1
Easy Street, 9 am-1 pm
Freshy’s, open 8 am-1 pm
Hotwire, closed
Java Bean, open 7 am-2 pm
Original Bakery, closed (Friday too)
Red Cup, closed
Revolution, closed
Sleepless (DRIVE-THRU), 7 am-2 pm
Starbucks (all WS locations), open normal start time (drive-thru is earliest @ 4:30 am) thru 4 pm
Tully’s Alki, 7 am-4 pm
Tully’s Morgan Junction, 6:30 am-2 pm
Uptown Delridge, open 6 am-3 pm
Uptown Junction, open 6 am-4 pm
We weren’t able to get through to C & P or Cafe Rozella – anyone who knows, let us know; we’ll have to run by later and see if signs are on the door. 9:30 PM ADDENDUM: No clues to be had on the Rozella doors; a comment on this post says C & P is open in the morning, though. THURSDAY MORNING ADDENDUM: Added Diva; went by to check, they’re open till 1.
Orca alert: Keep an eye out from West Seattle’s west-facing shores
This just in from the Orca Network “sightings” e-mail list (you can sign up here), which usually brings first word of such things, before they turn up on the ON website:
Nov. 21: Orca Network received a call from Amy Carey at 9:45 am, relaying a report from a passenger on the Vashon passenger ferry of a pod of orcas off the north end of Vashon Island heading south at 8:15 am. She found the pod at 9:55 am, between Three Tree Point & Pt. Robinson, Maury Island still heading south. At 10:56 am they were at Pt. Robinson, and she was able to confirm them as J pod. By 11:13 am they had come around Pt. Robinson, moving slowly. A cargo ship, the Greenwich Bridge, blasted right through the pod, after which they did multiple breaches & spy hops. At 11:35 am she said they were still heading south, not quite to Brown’s Pt. At 12:05 pm they were directly off Gold Beach, heading into the Maury Island Reserve.
Fleeting new role for the mayor: Grocery-bagging
We mentioned earlier in the week that Mayor Nickels was going to wander over to his neighborhood supermarket, Metropolitan Market in Admiral, to help promote MM’s new reusable bags. He made good on his promise this morning and helped bag a few groceries – our WSB videographer was there to get the proof:
This also gives us an excuse to mention the West Seattle supermarket hours for Thanksgiving Day again: Metropolitan Market is open till 2 pm, Thriftway till 4 pm, QFC till 6 pm, the Safeways are open regular (24) hours, PCC is closed. ADDED 7:30 PM: Another clip from the Metro Market event, with the mayor joined by Terry Halverson, CEO of the Metropolitan Market chain (which is HQ’ed in West Seattle):Read More
Help West Seattle High School students: Adopt a traveler!
We were lucky to grow up with some opportunities to travel, around the U.S. as well as to a few other countries. Nothing too fancy, but still — as you know if you have been able to travel — it changes your perspective on your own slice of the world, in so many ways, that carry on throughout your life and enhance your ability to “think global/act local,” among other benefits. With that preface, here’s a chance to help some West Seattle teenagers gain that perspective as they prepare for the journey into adulthood: At West Seattle High School, the Travel Club is looking for partners and supporters to help make sure everyone who wants to join a 10-day student trip to Italy and Greece next spring can go. A nicely written press release appeared in the WSB inbox – so we’re sharing that, and the information that follows it about how you can help, including fundraising events that are just a few weeks away:Read More
West Seattle sunrise sight
Driving east on Harbor Ave at sunrise this morning, we spotted this formation in the southeast sky. Could have been anything — deteriorating jet trail? Mount Adams steam? — whatever it was, it caught our eye, and luckily the camera was along for the ride.
B(u)y the books: City budget success story
Two weeks ago, we told you about local library advocates’ call to let city councilmembers know the new budget needed to give libraries a better deal. This morning, two days after councilmembers approved a budget (which we reported here), Sarel Rowe from Friends of Southwest Branch Library, one of those advocates, sends everyone these words of thanks:
The City Council passed a $2 million increase for The Seattle Public Library materials budget in 2008. In addition they passed funding guidance requesting a baseline for future materials budget proposals of $1.5 million more than that included in the proposed 2008 budget. Your readers were instrumental in this progress. Thanks to you we can all celebrate renewed materials vitality at our branch Libraries.
For more info, Sarel points us to the Friends of the Seattle Public Library site. And you can celebrate by checking out any of West Seattle’s four branches: Southwest, Delridge, High Point, and West Seattle (Admiral). (They’ll be closed on Thursday and Friday for the holiday, though.)
Once proposed for a park/pool, 4515 41st is back up for sale
One year ago, we first wrote about the stretch shown above — 4515 41st and environs, on the east edge of The Junction. Neighbors were concerned at the time about a development proposal for a 7-story apartment/condo building on the 4515 41st parcel, and neighboring lots, that at one point even featured a “park & pool” plan. That had changed by the time the project finished going through the Design Review Board process, but neighbors’ concerns over the size of the proposed project remained. Now, WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli (who also took the photo above) reports, the original developers appear to be getting out — 4515 41st is on the market again. Two years ago, county records say, it sold for $925,000; now it’s offered for $1,500,000, with listing pages (such as this one) describing it as a “(f)antastic townhome or multi-unit site right in the heart of the West Seattle Junction.”
Nucor permit application: Time running out to comment
WSB reader Julia called this to our attention. We have not been able to do a lot of research on it but wanted to let you know about it before it’s too late, in case you are interested in having a say: Nucor Steel is upgrading one of its cranes, to boost production, and because that could increase emissions of carbon monoxide and a variety of other components (details in this notice), Nucor has to get permits from the state Ecology Department and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Both are recommending approval; the deadline for public comment is tomorrow (the notice was apparently posted almost a month ago; as a result of this, we’ve learned about a new place to check for important public notices!), although it appears from the second part of a posting on this site that one piece of the project is open for comment until 12/12. Both these notices say a public hearing will be held only if there is “significant public interest” — contacts to express said interest can be found on the links.
Jogger attacked in Lincoln Park
Police are looking for a man who jumped a jogger late yesterday: reports here and here. She got away OK; he unfortunately got away too and was described in the tv report as “25 to 35, about 5-7, light brown hair, possibly balding … wearing a white, oversized sweatshirt with a pattern on it, and gray sweatpants.” The attack location is described only as “a trail in the south end.”
Reader Recommendation Request: Home health-care help
Hope someone in WSB-land has the perfect recommendation for Francine, who sent this note tonight:
I’m on a hunt for good, reliable home health-care services for my middle-aged husband who is losing his 19-month battle with brain cancer. Social workers and hospice have given me recommendations, but I’m looking for personal references. He’s still in the hospital after a harrowing weekend of seizures, and I’m not sure what his abilities will be yet. Prior to Saturday he had been very mobile and self-sufficient. But he may be bed-ridden when he finally comes home. So ideally we could use need help overnight or evenings. He’s 6′, 195 lbs., so I won’t be able to handle him myself, even though I’m always there. We will have hospice for medical services, but a nice, compassionate and strong CNA or nursing trainee would probably be perfect. The caregiver would be able to stay in our wonderful, private guest suite with fireplace in our home in North Admiral. Can you help find some recommendations for me?
If you would rather contact Francine directly instead of leaving your recommendation in comments, please e-mail WSB and we will forward to her.
Amazon Fresh says it’s now delivering to West Seattle
We signed ourselves up to be notified when Amazon‘s new grocery-delivery service came to our zip code – haven’t gotten a note that way yet, but the official WSB inbox just yielded this:
My name is Vincent and I’m a PM on the Amazon Fresh team. We’re part of the Amazon.com family, and we’re the Seattle area’s newest online grocery. We recently launched in July, only delivering to Mercer Island, but we’ve been expanding our coverage areas and now we just began delivery to West Seattle! I was wondering if your readers would be interested in the following news:
Beginning today, residents living in zip codes 98136, 98126, and 98116 can enjoy our pre-dawn delivery service: Place an order online as late as midnight, and we can deliver next morning as early as 6AM  free.*(minimum $25 order) This even includes Thanksgiving Day!
All you have to do is to browse to AmazonFresh.com and enter the address where you’d like to have your deliveries. Visit us and browse our selection of over 20,000 specialty and everyday itemsâ€â€get your milk, fresh fruit, and much more.
Much as we personally prefer to shop in our local West Seattle grocery stores and will continue to do so, we may place a test order just to report back on what happens. 8:45 PM UPDATE: Well, we tried. But then we hit the explanation of “pre-dawn delivery” – sometime before 6 am, the order is left by your door. Just not comfortable with that; not that we don’t trust our neighbors, but there’s a lot of wildlife around here. They would have had a field day with the turkey. Some interesting pricing in there, though, especially for produce and fresh herbs.
Crime alert: Marine View Drive car vandalism
Just out of the inbox, from Meg:
Just wanted to let you know that my truck window was smashed outside my house (Marine View Dr SW, Arbor Heights), last Monday night. Our street has experienced a fairly regular stream of crime over the last year or so, so maybe someone else will benefit by seeing a note on the blog. (The installation of motion sensor security lights and alert neighbors are always welcome.)
City budget passes unanimously
The $900 million-plus city budget for next year got unanimous approval from the City Council a few hours ago. That includes the Pedestrian Safety Initiative that councilmembers publicized with this event along Delridge just last week. Regarding specifics of interest to us in West Seattle — for starters, one note of interest from a newsletter sent by West Seattle-resident Councilmember Tom Rasmussen after the vote — he says the budget that was passed includes “Rental Assistance – Added $350,000 for emergency rental assistance and homeless prevention to include renters being evicted due to the conversion of their apartments to condominiums.” Brian Hawksford from Councilmember Rasmussen’s office also confirms that the $50,000 for a new pedestal for the Alki Statue of Liberty (as announced at the 9/11/07 unveiling) is in the budget that won final approval, and he says Rasmussen got $ added to the budget to help bring two areas of the city, including ours, up to parity with the rest of the city regarding Parks Department programs for the physically and developmentally disabled. 5 PM ADDENDUM: Dueling press releases are out from the Mayor and Council — here’s his (noting his disappointment that they killed the 311 emergency-infoline proposal), and here’s theirs.
Spotted on an early-morning reconnaissance run: Trees at Tony’s (35th/Barton), True-Value in The Junction, and Rite-Aid on California. We also saw a sign on Harbor Ave pointing past a gate into a promised tree lot (will investigate more closely later), and of course the wildly popular Holy Rosary Tree Lot
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