day : 17/01/2008 12 results

That’s newly elected Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin, speaking tonight to the Alki Community Council. “Every neighborhood counts,” he declared, and hit on several hot topics. But the hottest topic of the night took center stage before he spoke, when a large, displeased group of Alki Point residents tried to pass a resolution about the one issue that had brought them all to the meeting:Read More

Trial updates for two high-profile West Seattle cases

January 17, 2008 9:46 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

Both just posted at the P-I site: The jury in the Tatsuo Nakata 47th/Admiral pedestrian-death case will start deliberating the fate of defendant Ephraim Schwartz tomorrow morning (story here); the jury in the trial of ex-Huling salesmen Adrian Dillard and Ted Coxwell heard lawyers’ opening statements today (story here).

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A morning @ 34th/Morgan: Crossing-guard crunch, and more

January 17, 2008 8:01 pm

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| High Point | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | West Seattle video

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We saw that close call while spending time at 34th/Morgan this past Tuesday morning, meeting with neighborhood and pedestrian-safety activists who say it’s one of this area’s most dangerous places for schoolkids to have to cross. Here’s a taste of the regular traffic:

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Kids coming from the booming north side of High Point cross here to get to West Seattle (formerly High Point) Elementary, which is further south on 34th.Read More

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Mayor, police chief say Seattle crime is at a 40-year low

January 17, 2008 4:30 pm

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| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Here’s the news release. Haven’t seen a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakout yet. 5:52 PM ADDENDUM: One stat we can break down with regards to West Seattle — of the 24 murder cases in the city last year, three happened here – March at 37th/Findlay, April at Cal-Mor Circle, October at 59th/Admiral. The suspects in all three cases are still awaiting trial. In the 59th/Admiral case, the newest court documents show that the 18-year-old suspect has been found competent to stand trial, and his next hearing date is Feb. 11. (We reported the then-impending competency hearing on Dec. 29.)

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West Seattle High School students’ pro-4-period march

January 17, 2008 4:18 pm

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| West Seattle news

In case you wondered how the demonstration this afternoon went, here’s two video clips. First, the group leaving WSHS; second, their sign-waving in The Junction.

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West Seattle wildlife updates: Delridge coyote; birdwatch win

January 17, 2008 3:25 pm

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| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

First, a coyote sighting this morning at 21st & Andover (map), from Emily (thank you!):

9:05 this morning as I was driving to work there was a big beautiful coyote on the sidewalk. I stopped my car and it stopped and looked at me for a full minute. It looked really healthy and was as big as a large dog but with a fox shaped tail and a skinny jaw. It ducked down into the very small woodsy area by SW Charlestown. I drove around the block and put my cat inside for the day. Iâ€™ve heard they were here but I didnâ€™t realize they were 1 bk from my house.

Now, the birdwatching win. Imagine seeing 79 different bird species in your yard! We can recall maybe 10 … such as the Northern Flicker and Steller’s Jay:

Those photos are courtesy of Ed Newbold, who coordinates the YardBirdRace around Western Washington. He sent word (from his YardBirdRace breaking news page) that the Seattle Residential category of the 4th annual YardBirdRace had West Seattle winners:

Jim Flynn and Marissa Benevente appear to be testing the upper limits of what it’s possible to see from a residential Seattle yard as they ended up with 79, five ahead of the record in Seattle overall and Seattle residential, both of which they set last year. Common Nighthawk and Western Screech-Owl are two of the birds that helped them get there. This is the second year West Seattle & Flynn/Benevente have led in Seattle residential and Seattle overall.

You can find out more about the YardBirdRace here.

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Early start for “Day of Service” @ West Seattle Elementary

January 17, 2008 2:01 pm

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| High Point | How to help | West Seattle people | West Seattle schools

After we mentioned the “Day of Service” volunteer work planned for Monday @ West Seattle Elementary, Seattle Works e-mailed to let us know some of the work it’s doing in conjunction with City Year would actually start today. Here’s some of what’s happening at the school right now — starting with the outlining of a hummingbird mural outside a classroom:

Outside the school, these volunteers are literally laying the groundwork for a play area that will serve the district’s special-needs preschool that’s on the WSES campus:

And this carpentry work will create decorative planters for the school’s entrance:

As you might have guessed from the orange shirts, most of the volunteers at WSES today are from Home Depot — Seattle Works says the Delridge store coordinated the effort but the HD workers are from all around Puget Sound. Meantime, organizers are still looking for donations to complete the preschoolers’ play area; our original post has info on how to help.

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West Seattle Crime Watch update: Robbery suspect nabbed

January 17, 2008 12:32 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

This just in from the Southwest Precinct, courtesy of Lt. Steve Paulsen: Officers arrested the Diva Espresso robbery suspect last night in the 3300 block of Charlestown. Lt. Paulsen says, “Great work by our night shift. The suspect tried to escape in his vehicle, but obviously failed.”

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Pothole problems: Faulty fixes?

January 17, 2008 11:57 am

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| Transportation | Triangle | West Seattle news

We’ve talked here before about pothole problems and rutted roads around West Seattle. This week, we heard from a High Point resident named Casey Crowell who has an unusual take on it: He is concerned about the same potholes being fixed over and over, making things worse, rather than getting a longer-lasting fix in the first place. Here’s the letter he just wrote to the mayor about it, with specifics all the way down to the pothole Casey has nicknamed “Bruno”:Read More

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Traffic alert: South Park Bridge closed this weekend

January 17, 2008 11:49 am

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| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | Transportation

Just in from the county: The South Park Bridge is closing 7 am Saturday–5 pm Sunday for sidewalk repairs. (Though it’s not in WS, we know it’s a popular route to and from some points south of downtown — Costco, anyone? — so we’re mentioning it here.)

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Another West Seattle retailer moving

January 17, 2008 9:55 am

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| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Marilyn Murphy from Murphy’s Furniture Studio on Avalon (just up the hill from Java Bean, Luna Park Cafe, Avalon Glass Works) confirms her store will be moving in the next few months. She says she’d been thinking about it for a while, and a recent rent increase helped “influence her decision” as well. As is the case with Basic Green Box‘s move, which we reported here Monday, Murphy’s hasn’t settled on a new location yet but will update us when they do. Marilyn adds she’s preparing for the move already: “I am starting to mark down a lot of merchandise and will be having a fabric sale next month.” (Thanks to Beth for e-mailing the tip on this.)

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Busy day (and night) for West Seattle High School

January 17, 2008 5:40 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

-WSHS has an open house this morning, with school tours offered 7:30-9 am.

–As reported here last Sunday, the group that’s trying to overturn the plan for WSHS to switch to a 6-period day next year plans a student march this afternoon, starting at 2:30 and heading from WSHS to The Junction.

-The WSHS Winter Concert is in the theater tonight at 7 pm, with the band and choir performing.

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