day : 19/02/2008 13 results

Some good news about the dog-poisoning concerns at Fauntleroy Park and Westcrest Park (background in previous WSB coverage here): Seattle Parks security supervisor Larry Campbell was at tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting, and he says nothing more has been reported since the most widely publicized case, in which “Mo” the Katrina survivor (photo left) got sick after romping at Westcrest. However, he says, the Parks Department has put up flyers saying it’s keeping close watch on the parks, and asking that anyone who sees anything suspicious, or thinks their dog’s been poisoned, call 206/684-7457. Meantime, “Mo” continues to recover, and we just got word tonight of a fundraising party this weekend:Read More

Nicholas Francisco search: Video released; reward increased

February 19, 2008 9:33 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

A WSB reader who works with Nicholas Francisco at Publicis on Queen Anne asked us to post that newly created clip — basically the video equivalent of the “MISSING” poster. It also mentions that the reward is now up to $10,000. No major new developments so far tonight; this TV story tonight says K-9 teams are now involved in the search near where his car was found in Federal Way. (If you’re just coming in on all this, our last report includes the backstory.)

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Gunshots tonight; other updates

February 19, 2008 9:01 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Some news from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting at the Southwest Precinct: Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio told the group about a shots-fired investigation under way earlier tonight near the South Delridge 7-11 — at least half a dozen shots fired, nobody hurt, but a parked vehicle was hit. He says the search for suspects is focusing on a “suspicious apartment” in a building on 20th SW, and the SPD Gang Unit is looking at this case. (10:03 PM UPDATE: Coverage we just watched on TV tells a slightly different story – KING 5 reports the car hit by gunfire belonged to Chief Sealth HS employee Barry Ray, who says he was driving when the bullet hit – here’s the link to the story.) Topacio and fellow CPT Officer Brian Ballew also had updates on some of the investigations we’ve followed in previous West Seattle Crime Watch coverage:Read More

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Our official Election Results post: Check ’em, discuss ’em

February 19, 2008 8:01 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle politics

We’re out covering a meeting and won’t be able to add narrative to this post for a while — but now that the polls are closed, here are the links where you should be able to find results from the state’s presidential primary: Statewide results here, King County results here. 9 PM UPDATE: Statewide results so far, Obama 50%, Clinton 47% on the D side; McCain winning the R side by a mile. 2:30 AM UPDATE: Those numbers (Obama/Clinton) have held all night long.

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The other food bank that serves (part of) West Seattle

February 19, 2008 7:29 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

Ever heard the sound of what it takes to power an industrial-size walk-in freezer?

Click To Play

That’s one of the sights and sounds of our recent video tour of the White Center Food Bank. What were we doing there? Backstory: Last November, we took you inside the West Seattle Food Bank for a behind-the-scenes mini-tour. Then we got a recent invitation to come visit the “other” food bank serving part of West Seattle — the White Center Food Bank — where we learned about the service boundaries between WSFB’s area and WCFB’s area, and a whole lot more:Read More

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From the land-use files: Another teardown-to-townhomes site

February 19, 2008 6:39 pm

| 15 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

That’s 2312-2314 44th SW in North Admiral, with applications just filed for demolition of this building and replacement with five townhomes split between two buildings. According to county property records, the doomed duplex is exactly a century old, and sold last month for $750,000. The multiplex immediately south is an ex-apartment building that converted to condos last year.

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35th/Alaska paving: Could it be … Bruno’s last gasp?

February 19, 2008 4:08 pm

| Comments Off on 35th/Alaska paving: Could it be … Bruno’s last gasp?

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Just got this. We suspect it’s the section best known for “Bruno” the pothole (backstory here and here, which included photos such as the one above), going out to check:

SDOT to pave 35th Ave SW at SW Alaska

SDOT crews will begin tomorrow (February 20) to pave a portion of 35th
Avenue SW at SW Alaska Street. One northbound lane on 35th Avenue SW
will be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day for approximately one
week.

5:26 PM UPDATE: Marybeth Turner of SDOT confirms “it is the same area, according to our pavement management staff.” So bye-bye, “Bruno” …

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West Seattle “pirate radio” off the air

February 19, 2008 2:31 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

We had quite the discussion here over the weekend after reporting that the “pirate” FM station Radio 33 was back on the air, as they’d planned, getting ready to broadcast the Homelessness Marathon. Their return had to be cut short, though, according to this communique just out of the inbox from Radio 33’s chief engineer:

Radio 33 had to leave the air early on Monday morning due to a bad sound card in the automation computer. Management deemed the sound quality too noisy and distorted to allow on the air, and it will not be fixed in time for the Homelessness Marathon that was set to air Wednesday night.

Looks like you’ll be able to listen to the marathon online, though.

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For those seeking Nicholas Francisco search updates

February 19, 2008 12:10 pm

| 354 COMMENTS

| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

Our visitor logs show a sizable number of people landing here as the result of web searches for information on the search, since our previous reports show fairly high in Google results, so we’re summarizing the latest. First – to recap – Nicholas Francisco is a SeaTac man who disappeared after leaving his Queen Anne job last Wednesday; he and his family attended Mars Hill-West Seattle until recently, so we’ve reported on the search (original post with the full-color search flyer is here) because of his WS ties. Last major development reported publicly was the discovery of his car at a Federal Way condo complex yesterday morning – here’s what’s come out since then: This site posted an “official update” from relatives/searchers last night; this KOMO report quotes authorities as saying the car was seen in different parking spots at the complex before they impounded it yesterday; the KIRO noon TV news report we just watched said authorities didn’t find any signs of “foul play” during their first search of the car and are deciding what to do next.

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Reader report: House egged again – anyone else?

February 19, 2008 11:39 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| Crime | Seaview | West Seattle news

Out of the WSB inbox this morning, a reader reports her house getting egged — for the third time in the past few months — in the Seaview neighborhood, and wonders if it happened to anyone else. (Otherwise, we haven’t heard much about this particular brand of vandalism since last month.)

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One West Seattle-specific shoutout in “State of the City”

February 19, 2008 10:40 am

| Comments Off on One West Seattle-specific shoutout in “State of the City”

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

This hour, Mayor Nickels delivered the 2008 “State of the City” address. Its full text is online; we see just one West Seattle-specific shoutout, a mention of Myrtle as one of the reservoirs getting new parks along with covers. (WSB coverage of the last Myrtle public meeting is here.) More intriguingly, he ends the speech saying he will be asking for citizens’ thoughts on a “Customer Bill of Rights” for the city (this news release has some details); certainly WSB-ers have had much to say about the city’s responsiveness or lack of same – what do you think such a “Bill of Rights” should include?

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Deadly Westwood crash: Victim’s family still has questions

February 19, 2008 8:10 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | Westwood

We now know a lot more about the woman hit and killed while crossing Barton by Westwood Village a week and a half ago — 55-year-old Therese (Teri) Marie Soike — the first pedestrian killed in West Seattle since 85-year-old Oswald Clement last October. The photo you see at left was provided by Teri’s daughter Shelby Hampton, who says the family is “still in shock” and “completely devastated” — Shelby adds, “My sister and I were very close to our mother and nothing can prepare you for a death like this.” They are hoping to find witnesses to the crash, and agreed to talk with WSB:Read More

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Happening today/tonight: Election, RapidRide, crimefighting

February 19, 2008 6:03 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| Crime | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

ELECTION: Presidential primary, 7 am-8 pm if you haven’t voted by mail; more info here.

RAPIDRIDE: Last of 4 West Seattle open houses to share information and take comments for this phase of Metro’s West Seattle RapidRide bus-service planning, 6-7:30 pm @ Southwest Library.

CRIMEFIGHTING: West Seattle Community Safety Partnership, under new leadership elected last month, invites you to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct. If you have a neighborhood crime or nuisance concern and would like to ask local police what’s being done, or what can be done, about it — this hour is well worth your time. (WSB coverage of last month’s WSCSP meeting is here.)

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