day : 27/02/2010 9 results

Two car break-in reports to share, one at a local park, one with puzzling loot choices – and a followup on a recent car prowl, with a victim getting some of her stolen items replaced – read on for all three:Read More

Followup: Admiral Neighborhood Association cleanup success!

February 27, 2010 8:26 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news

The Admiral Neighborhood Association put out the call for volunteer help at its quarterly Adopt-A-Street cleanup today – and more than 20 answered the call, according to this report from ANA president Katy Walum:

23 people showed up for this morning’s cleanup (!), along with some early sunshine to further lift spirits. With so many present to lend a hand, cleanup went smoothly and fairly quickly. There were LOTS of cigarette butts cleaned up – many volunteers commented that it would be nice to see more Admiral businesses place receptacles for the butts (and trash) outside their doors, and of course maintain these regularly.

A very special thanks to all of the volunteers who came out today, and to Metropolitan Market which provided coffee, pastries, and even complete sack lunches for us! It was inspiring to see so many people take time out of their weekend to give back to their community. And now all of Admiral can enjoy cleaner sidewalks and surroundings because of these generous folks.

Also, per John Lang, who visited our event today: If you missed today’s event but are looking for a similar opportunity to help out the Admiral community, don’t forget about next Saturday’s cleanup of Fairmount Ravine, from 8:30-10:30 am, put on by area neighbors. Volunteers for this cleanup need to bring their own gloves, wear sturdy shoes or boots (for getting up into the hillsides), and bring pruning-type saws or clippers for tackling the ivy.

More on the Fairmount cleanup plan here. Meantime, you can keep up to date with ANA announcements like the quarterly Adopt-A-Street cleanups (next one is 6/5) through the group’s Yahoo! mailing list and Facebook group. Congratulations to these volunteers and everybody else who was out today at the myriad work parties listed by the Green Seattle Partnership (and in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup) – reports on those events are welcome too, as we always love to share good news too.

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Followup: Ryan Cox pleads guilty, released from jail

February 27, 2010 7:57 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

We reported yesterday on the latest arrest of Ryan Cox, who had previously been arrested twice in the past 10 months for serial graffiti vandalism, charged with multiple counts of property destruction, then eventually freed when charges were dropped because he was found not mentally competent to stand trial. This time, the charge was “1st degree property destruction, value greater than $50”; it involved tire-slashing, according to the victim, who e-mailed a Crime Watch report about it. According to the King County Jail Register, Cox is out of jail as of less than an hour ago; The Seattle Municipal Court website says he had a hearing today at which he waived trial, then pleaded guilty to the charge, was given a “suspended sentence,” and “referred to the time pay office” for what the court site says was a $5,000+ fine. That’s all the information we have; we won’t be able to find out more from the City Attorney’s Office until Monday. (Previous stories, some of which included photos previously released by police, are archived here.)

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Advocates say “Jason McKissack Act” in danger of dying in Senate

February 27, 2010 1:55 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle police | West Seattle politics

ORIGINAL 1:55 PM REPORT: We have been following the progress in the Legislature of EHB 1679, the bill that is meant to fix the situation that has left catastrophically injured public-safety personnel and their families without health coverage if they cannot return to work. First, it was heard in the state House Ways and Means Committee (WSB coverage here), and passed the House unanimously; then last Monday, it was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee (WSB coverage here). But that committee has to bring it up for a vote to get it to the floor – and Renee Maher, law-enforcement advocate/lobbyist and an officer’s widow, e-mailed us today to say EHB 1679 is in danger of NOT coming up for a vote in Senate Ways and Means. The Senate is also where a version of this bill died last year – before the well-publicized case of Jason McKissack, who was on duty as a West Seattle-based Seattle Police officer, trying to break up a fight a year and a half ago, when he was kicked in the face repeatedly and suffered brain damage. He is unable to return to work and received a letter from the city last month saying his employment was ended; he and his wife testified in the House hearing, but he was not well enough to attend last Monday’s Senate hearing. From Renee Maher:

Somehow EHB 1679 – the Jason McKissack Act – has slipped through the cracks in the Senate Ways and Means committee. We need to get the word out to people to ask them to contact Senate Ways and Means Chair Margarita Prentice, 360-786-7616, and ask her to vote EHB 1679 out of the committee. The deadline is Monday!

The full list of Ways and Means members – with each name linking to the senator’s site and contact info – is here. Among them, West Seattle’s 34th District State Senator Joe McDermott, who had said he’d do everything he could to move this bill this year; we have messages out to him – the committee is in session again today, though this bill is not on its published agenda.

ADDED 4:14 PM: The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild has sent a news release with an open plea to the public to help rescue this bill.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild and the Council of Metropolitan Police and Sheriffs need the public’s assistance. Engrossed House Bill 1679, also known as the “Jason McKissack Act”, which would provide health insurance to Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters who are catastrophically injured in the line of duty faces the possibility of not passing. This bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously on February 3, 2010. On February 22, 2006, testimony regarding the bill was heard in front of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Officer McKissack’s wife Kim testified along with the President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, the President of COMPAS and the Executive Director of COMPAS, stating the importance of this bill, and how the state needs to take care of their law enforcement officers and firefighters, should they ever become catastrophically injured in the line of duty.

If this bill is not voted out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee by THIS Monday, March 1, 2010, the bill will die. Currently the bill IS NOT SET to be voted on, on Monday.

The news release continues after the jump:Read More

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Play ball! Tryouts, draft tomorrow for West Seattle Little League

February 27, 2010 1:43 pm

| Comments Off on Play ball! Tryouts, draft tomorrow for West Seattle Little League

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

West Seattle Little League has tryouts and draft for majors and minors tomorrow at Bar-S Playfield (map) – here’s the schedule as shared by Cami MacNamara:

Majors Players Check-In:
8:45am at Bar-S Playfield Sign in and receive number from registrar and start warm-up
Players try-out evaluation 9:30am – 11:15am
Draft: 11:30am – 12:30pm

Minors Players Check-In:
12:15pm at Bar-S Playfield Sign in and receive number from registrar and start warm-up
Players try-out evaluation 1:00pm – 3:15pm
Draft: 3:30am – 5:00pm

Try-outs may be cancelled due to weather conditions. If it is raining please check our website for updated information on whether the try- outs are cancelled and rescheduled to our back up date. If the information is not posted please come down to the fields and a decision will be made at the earliest time possible. Please do not assume they are cancelled.

Updates at westseattlelittleleague.com.

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Chile earthquake aftermath: Local tsunami advisory, BUT …

February 27, 2010 12:13 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Safety | West Seattle news

… don’t panic. Even a ripple can be a “tsunami” if it’s considered to have been generated by an event, such as Chile’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake. If any such ripple does show up on our shores, it’s predicted around 4:41 pm this afternoon, according to the latest table from NOAA. It’s moving north and so far no major trouble’s been reported in its path further south. Nonetheless, wariness by the water is probably not a bad thing.

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Be ready for anything: Know your West Seattle Communication Hub

February 27, 2010 9:48 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| Neighborhoods | Safety | West Seattle news

View West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs in a larger map

Watching/reading/listening to news of the Chile quake and the Hawaii tsunami alert – we are NOT under a warning here – you might be inspired to doublecheck to be sure you’re ready for what everyone hopes will never happen. So we’re reminding you about the ONE West Seattle-specific link that not only is laden with the traditional preparedness information, but also shows you where you’d be able to go to get information and help, if you couldn’t find out what was going on any other way: the Emergency Communication Hubs mapped at West Seattle – Be Prepared. Because of a two-year volunteer effort, our area is way ahead of most other Seattle neighborhoods in terms of this kind of preparation, and the volunteer effort includes this great site. The Hubs are part of it – nine sites around the peninsula where volunteers will set up gathering places/information clearinghouses – click on your nearest one on the Google Map above, then find out the full details at this page on the official site. Bookmark the site on your home and work computers – plus your smartphone if you have one – and also remember that you can find the link in the WSB sidebar (look for the mini-graphic of the Hubs map). You also can pick up postcards with the hub map at the Junction and Delridge Neighborhood Service Centers (more on that here).

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Your West Seattle Saturday: Cookies, cleanups, concerts …

February 27, 2010 8:25 am

| Comments Off on Your West Seattle Saturday: Cookies, cleanups, concerts …

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Randall G. Hauk)
We showed you the 30,000-box pickup … the decking-out of Walking on Logs … and now, Girl Scout Cookies are finally on sale. The photo’s from Admiral Safeway last night, where Troop #41504 junior Scouts were on duty; if you want to know for sure where and when to find cookie-selling scouts, any time between now and March 14, here’s the online Cookie Locator (put in your zip code and choose “within 5 miles” and you’ll get the whole West Seattle list). Also today: Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Adopt-A-Street cleanup will gather volunteers outside Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) starting at 9 am (more here), and it’s a very busy day for work parties in parks and greenbelts (Green Seattle Partnership keeps the list). Then tonight, along with live music at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) and other regular nightspots, you have a few special concerts to choose from including Westside Blues and the latest Music Northwest presentation. Those are just the highlights; the full list is in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

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Duwamish Tribe fundraiser at “life or death moment”

February 27, 2010 12:08 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Announcements

From the Duwamish Tribe:

The Duwamish Tribe is inviting Seattle to a Frybread for Justice fundraiser to benefit the Duwamish Legal Fund to support its court case for tribal federal recognition–to date about $60,000 of $128,000 needed for expert witness fees has been raised.

Cecile Hansen, the Tribal Chairwoman and direct descendant of Chief Seattle, has been asking the people of Seattle for help. “If everybody in Seattle gave us one dollar, we would be able to raise the money for our legal defense fund to appeal the 2001 negative determination. We are not asking Seattle to give us back our land, just a little help to find justice.”

Event: Frybread for Justice

Suggested donations: $6 for Indian Taco & Drink and $2 for Frybread
Free admission to Longhouse exhibits & continuous showings of “Princess Angeline” film in exhibit area. This film chronicles the life of the daughter of Chief Seattle and is told through the members of the Duwamish tribe with the struggle of federal status as a theme. This is a very emotional and powerful film. Princess Angeline lived her whole life in her homeland which became the city of Seattle refusing to leave the land of her people.

Date: Saturday, March 6th 11 AM to 5PM
Place: Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center
4705 W Marginal Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106

This is a life or death moment for the legal status of the Duwamish Tribe!!!

Donations can be sent to Duwamish Tribal Services at 4705 West Marginal Way SW Seattle, WA 98106.

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