West Seattle Crime Watch: Child left in car; store robbed; more
From our review of the past week’s reports at the Southwest Precinct:
A 41-year-old Highland Park woman got a warning from police after leaving her two-year-old daughter alone in the family car while she shopped at Westwood Village Target. Police were called after passersby saw the little girl alone in a Nissan Frontier, strapped into a rear-facing booster seat, car doors locked, all windows rolled up except for one cracked open half an inch. While one officer went in to ask the store to put out a page, another stayed at the car to figure out how to get the child out. The mother answered the page and told police, according to the report, “She was asleep and I didn’t want to wake her up”; meantime, another officer set off the vehicle alarm and noted that the child got out of her seat, crawled across the cab, played with the gear shift, and opened a door for the officer. After police explained to the mother “in great detail how much danger she put her child in by leaving her unattended in a vehicle … (and) explained the exceptionally high levels of auto theft that occur in the area,” they let her go with a warning, but said the report would be forwarded to CPS. In fact, five auto-theft cases were among the other West Seattle reports we reviewed, as was a 7-11 robbery, and more – read on:Read More
West Seattle Little League: Still room for 17- and 18-year-olds
On behalf of West Seattle Little League, Cami MacNamara wants you to know: “West Seattle Little League is still accepting registrations for Big League Baseball, 17-18 years of age. Season begins mid-May (after regular-season high-school ball) and runs through late June. One to two games per week and double-headers on Sundays. Our combined All-Star team won the State Tournament last season. Please visit our registration page and sign up today!” You’ll find that page by going here.
Happening now: Sustainable West Seattle “Bike-a-palooza”
If you see this before 8:30 or so, there’s still time to get to the Camp Long Lodge for a night full of bicycling presentations as the monthly Sustainable West Seattle meeting morphs into Bike-a-palooza – we took the above photo right outside the lodge, where all sorts of bikes – including The Green Car Company’s electric bikes – are on display (GCC is offering test rides, too!).
Traffic alert: Beware the glare; light out at 30th/Roxbury
Thanks to Jim for the tip – the stoplights at 30th/Roxbury (map) are out right now (and no temporary “stop” signs had been set up when we went over for a photo shortly after his tip came in) – because of the evening sunshine, the glare might fool you into thinking you have a green light; we’re checking to make sure somebody’s reported the outage.
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Four Legs Photography
Today, we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, Jen Flynn‘s Four Legs Photography. Jen brings her fine-arts-photography background to taking pictures of people’s pets. 
She says that experience helps her find your pet’s character and capture it on film. Jen does both dog and cat photography in the owners’ homes and occasionally in parks or at the beach [photo at left is C & P Coffee‘s “shop dog” Adie]. When working in a client’s home she says she is careful not to bring her equipment in immediately so that she can get to know the dog or cat she’ll be photographing. Prior to an appointment, Jen also has several tips on how to get your pet’s energy out and still look fresh for a picture. She says that taking this time to establish herself in the pet’s home has led many of her clients to say they were amazed their pet sat still to have a picture taken. Jen also works with several animal rescue and adoption groups and she’s involved with the Northwest Photographic Center. Her work has been seen in West Seattle at Next to Nature in the Junction and at The Kenney during February’s West Seattle Art Walk. She has an upcoming show at Plasteel Frames in June, and she is a frequent contributor to West Seattle-headquartered City Dog Magazine. You can find Four Legs Photography online at fourlegsphoto.com, or call Jen at 206-890-8295.
Thanks to Four Legs Photography for choosing to grow their business and support 24/7 West Seattle community news, information, and discussion by sponsoring WSB; this page has our full sponsor list and info on how to become part of it!
West Seattle Golf Course driving range? Parks Board, this week
Warm weather got you in the mood for golf? A big decision about the West Seattle Golf Course‘s future is days away. Thursday, the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners is scheduled to make its final recommendations on the citywide Golf Course Master Plan. After previous hearings and discussions, what’s known as “Option 4B” (see a summary of costs and timetables here) is in the forefront; under that plan, the first two elements slated for construction in West Seattle would be a double-level driving range ($3.4 million) and cart paths ($155,000), both scheduled for planning/design next year and construction in 2011. As shown in the Parks schematic above, the driving range would be on the western side of the golf course, south of the stadium and parking lot. Four other improvements — clubhouse, cart barn, maintenance facilities and perimeter trails — would be scheduled, under that “option,” for planning/design in 2013, construction in 2014. The Parks Board meets at 7 pm Thursday, department HQ at Denny Park (map); full documentation for this agenda item, and other agenda topics including athletic-field scheduling and park operating hours citywide, is linked from the board’s webpage.
West Seattle scenes: Sneak peek at summer
The miracle of portable technology – you can take advantage of brilliant sun and not stay out of touch. We were actually photographing the flotilla of brant in the background, when we caught the beachgoer in the foreground. Elsewhere on Alki, crews were getting the tennis courts in shape for summer:
If you “follow” WSB on Twitter (@westseattleblog, or, if you are just checking in via the Web, twitter.com/westseattleblog), you may also have seen this photo link we tweeted – beach umbrella sighting!
ADDED 2:50 PM: One more it’s-warm-and-everybody’s-out photo, this one from Cass:
She added, “It’s all in the perspective …” (Which certainly can be said for many things!)
Chief Sealth break-in/vandalism: Help solve a $200,000 crime
We usually do not publish complete “tags” on WSB, as it’s believed publicity may further encourage tagging vandals, but this time, police actually are asking us to show you these two photos in hopes you might be able to solve a costly crime: One month after we first told you about a break-in and vandalism spree at the permanent Chief Sealth High School site (WSB coverage here and here), currently closed for renovation work, Southwest Precinct Detective Nick Bauer tells WSB the damage now totals $200,000; much of that damage was from a fire set by the burglar(s), but they also broke windows, skylights, and even some equipment in the library. Believed to be linked to the break-in: Graffiti vandalism on the roof, as seen above and below:
What police are asking is this: If you have seen graffiti/tagging in a style resembling either of these photos – or if even better, you have any idea who the “writer(s)” might be – please give them a call. CrimeStoppers of Puget Sound is a good place to start, since you can tip anonymously: 206-343-2020 or 800-222-TIPS. SPD also has a non-emergency line, 206-625-5011. Just one of the ways in which your tip could help: Police can check their databases for known taggers, and if it turns out that something you have seen has already been linked to a certain offender, that may help them make the connection that cracks this case. Side note: The white blob in the top photo is our edit to block a profanity; investigators wonder if “f— the merger ” might be a reference to the end result of the work that is under way now, not only renovating CSHS but also building a new Denny Middle School on the same campus.
Businessman, conservationist Stimson Bullitt dies in West Seattle
Published this morning at seattletimes.com and seattlepi.com: Stimson Bullitt died over the weekend at his home in south West Seattle. He was well-known in the region for a variety of endeavors including conservation activism and running KING-TV in what was considered its heyday, a time when it drew national fame for quality local news broadcasts and other programs; he was a son of its founder, the legendary Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. 
He also founded Harbor Properties, which currently has three project sites in West Seattle, the almost-open Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor), the future mixed-use Link at 38th/Alaska, and the motel site (no design proposal yet) at 36th/Alaska. And one more note: As is written on his own website (from which the photo at left was taken), “Among honors he has received, perhaps the best known was Nixon’s ‘Enemies List’.” Stimson Bullitt was less than 2 months away from his 90th birthday.
Happening today/tonight: Bike-a-palooza, new coffee shop, more
NEW COFFEE SHOP: A year in the making, Coffee at the Heights opens this morning (more info here). [Photo of barista Cheryl, on duty at midday, added 12:46 pm]
CITY BUDGET CUT PLANS: Proposed general-fund cuts outlined by the mayor last Friday will be discussed at the council Budget Committee meeting, 10:30 this morning (you can watch live via Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 or seattlechannel.org).
BIKE-A-PALOOZA: That’s what Sustainable West Seattle is calling the bicycling presentations and exhibits assembled for tonight’s monthly meeting, 7 pm, Camp Long (more info here).
TEAM DELRIDGE: 6:30 pm at Youngstown Arts Center, as part of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative — come talk about strategies for the Fitness & Built Environment.
* Do you feel safe walking in the Delridge neighborhood?
* Do you use the stairs along Delridge Way?
* Have you ever walked Longfellow Creek?
* Is the current bus system useful for your needs?
* Are the sidewalks safe? For children? Strollers? Elderly?
Lots more – for today/tonight and way beyond – on the WSB Events calendar.
Update from
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