News from the streets
From our first visit to a West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting last night: First thing on the agenda, an update from WS-based Seattle Police officers, with inside info about what’s happening on our streets. Overall, crime-wise, they say things are relatively “quiet” right now — certainly doesn’t mean no crime at all (as evident here), but no huge problems. One new trouble spot mentioned by Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio: Reports of transients camping in Lincoln Park; if you encounter this, he said, send him e-mail with the specific location (his contact info is on this page). Also mentioned last night: Despite scattered problems, the police verdict on the just-ended summer season on Alki is “it was a great year”; recent speeding crackdowns deploying the Chargers in areas such as Highland Park Way and the 1st Avenue South Bridge have netted dozens of violators, including drivers going past 60 mph in 30 mph zones. Still lots more to tell you from last night’s meeting, including how to fight blight (such as drug houses and trashy properties) in your neighborhood, and how to keep the WSCSP group from losing a vital resource — check back this afternoon.
A way to show your WS pride
Every so often, somebody asks where to find an I (HEART) WEST SEATTLE bumper sticker. 
We kept thinking maybe we’d get into the bumper-sticker business, but other priorities kept getting in the way. Luckily, WSB reader Tom just posted last night (the 9:48 pm comment below this post) that he’s set some up through the online store CafePress.com. Here’s the link to the sticker Tom is selling. Design shown at right (image grab from CafePress.com); just says I (HEART) WEST SEATTLE, no other logo or business name, $2.99 plus 75 cents shipping/handling. We don’t know Tom personally and aren’t affiliated with this but nonetheless we say bravo.
Community crimefighters
Checked out the monthly West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting tonight and came away with some eye-opening info which we will process for you by morning. Headlines include: Lincoln Park visitors should watch out for transients camping in the greenery; neighborhoods with nuisance properties have an amazing amount of guidance available for dealing with the problem; and the WSCSP needs an infusion of new community involvement or else the Seattle Neighborhood Group may have to stop providing the services of staffer Lois Grammon-Simpson to help oversee and facilitate its vital business of helping us all stay safe. This would be a big loss. More on that in a few hours.
Pinniped protection at Luna Park
The Seal Sitters aren’t just keeping watch at Alki – the baby seals are turning up all over the West Seattle shore. Clifton Leatherwood sent these photos (thank you!) from Luna Park this afternoon — first the blocked-off area, then the little seal resting in the shadow of a driftwood log:
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2 for tomorrow
TOMORROW NIGHT: What should the city do with millions of your $ earmarked for transportation projects? Don’t wait till you read here that crews are on their way to (fill in the blank) and then say “Hey! Why don’t they (whatever) instead?” — stop by tomorrow night’s city Transportation Department open house at Youngstown Arts Center between 5 and 8 pm, look at what’s under consideration, register your preference. Or – if you absolutely can’t make it in person – the city has set up a webpage where you can see what’s on the potential project list and rank your preferences – click here, then choose South Sector; with 29 WS locations on the list, one just might be near you. Make your choices by September 27th.
ALL DAY TOMORROW: Chief Sealth HS hosts Seattle Earth Summit II 9:30 am-3 pm with an impressive guest list, including the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari Maathai, as well as West Seattle’s world-famous photographer Art Wolfe. Also part of the agenda: a ceremonial tree-planting @ 11:30 am at Pelly Place Ravine, which Wolfe and local students are working together to revitalize as part of Project Earth Care.
The ‘hood you call home
A few folks have e-mailed in recent weeks to inquire about the definitive West Seattle neighborhood map. You would expect the city to have the final say, but upon a closer look at their neighborhood map boundaries for West Seattle — which, annoyingly, the city seems to consider separate from greater Delridge — we’re not so sure. Take a look at what the maps linked below say is your neighborhood; comment here if you disagree. (Note some neighborhood names are missing altogether, such as Pigeon Point.)
Links:
-“West Seattle” (small; large)
-“Delridge” (small; large)
Pay now or pay big later
As the number of pay-to-park lots around WS increases, watch closely for the signs, and do be aware that the enforcers make the rounds — as discovered today by the spouse of a regular reader. Reportedly, more than a dozen cars in the lot near Wells Fargo in The Junction all got simultaneously ticketed during the Farmers’ Market across the street. The reader went back for a closer look at the signage … and yes, it’s posted (reader photo @ right) … but that doesn’t make the $35 ticket any easier to take. (Payable online, courtesy of the industrious folks at Diamond Parking.) Yes, of course lot owners have the right to charge whatever the traffic will bear, as discussed after our recent post about the future Fauntleroy Place site converting to a Diamond-managed pay lot. But you can’t help wonder if it’s a slippery slope. The Junction merchants have worked hard to keep several free lots available for us all, and lobbied against paid parking on WS streets (earning us the envy of other neighborhoods). But as the pay lots multiply, can the city resist trying for a cut of the action?
For the future, near and far
Just four months into its hopefully long lifespan, Sustainable West Seattle continues to grow. Tomorrow night, you’re invited to its next meeting — 7 pm, Camp Long, family-friendly, so kids are welcome — where county and city reps will talk about transportation and climate-change issues, respectively. The latter is of special note, with a Seattle CAN (Climate Action Now) kickoff event in WS next Saturday. (Here’s a new reason to care about climate change.) If you can’t make tomorrow’s meeting, see the Sustainable WS website, which includes contact info for the people running its action groups (Energy, Transportation, Food & Health, Water & Waste Reduction, Green Building & Planning).
Bus changes, big and small
Crews working on the bus shelter next to KeyBank in The Junction — spotted this morning as we headed to the Farmers’ Market — reminds us it’s time to talk about many changes for WS bus riders …
Some of those changes involve renovations, repairs, and replacements for many other WS shelters. More on that in a few sentences. First: Some bus routes will change starting next weekend, in preparation for the reopening of the downtown bus tunnel on Monday, 9/24. Lots and lots of changes, all detailed here. People who know the quirks of the Metro system much better than we do say that some of the changes are positive for links between WS and other parts of the area. Now, as for those bus-stop/bus-shelter changes — after a few people e-mailed us with questions about work they had noticed, Chris Arkills from the office of West Seattle-representing King County Councilmember Dow Constantine was kind enough to get us a list of what Metro’s working on. We’ve had this in queue for about a week and a half so some of these projects may already be done, but you might find it handy anyway (it also explains exactly what those crews shown above are doing at the shelter by KeyBank):Read More
Fifteen days after 
The official 
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