EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second weekly installment of this new WSB feature – if you missed the explanation/introduction with which we prefaced the first one, you’ll find it here.
*A Fauntleroy woman returned home to discover one of her dogs missing and a bedroom window open. Initially concerned about a break-in, she and officers ultimately decided that a “break-out” was the likelier scenario: There were no signs of forced entry, and the dog (later found 11 blocks away) had apparently seized the opportunity to re-enact The Great Escape by jumping onto the bed and out of the window.
*Around 7 a.m. on October 5th, officers woke a homeless man who was sleeping on a Junction bus stop bench. As part of the information-gathering, they asked if they could search his backpack. The contents — none of which were in his name — might have warranted a round of the “12 Days of Christmas”: Five credit cards, three IDs, two drivers licenses, one passport, several blank checks, one crack pipe, rock cocaine … and a meeeeeethh-loaded syringe.
Before we get to the reports on tonight’s neighborhood-council meetings, one more from last night – the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council. We have toplines from two of the major topics, trees and traffic – read on:Read More
Just got word today from Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie that former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice (right) has confirmed as keynote for this year’s Gathering of Neighbors in West Seattle, coming up November 6th at Chief Sealth International High School. It’s a chance for community organizations and West Seattle businesses to gather in one place so that they and community members can learn more about each other. And tonight, the Gathering of Neighbors registration form is online, for prospective participants. This will be the first GON since spring 2009; Birnie told WSB in a phone conversation that it’s expanding to be more than just a gathering of community exhibitors with a smattering of entertainment. For example, you’ll see more workshops – Birnie describes them as “learning exchanges.” GON will also be a kickoff of sorts for DNDA, he explains, as it grows into a role of not just making projects happen, but also helping sow and nurture “Seeds of Innovative Leadership” (SOIL for short) – which will be a “peninsula-wide leadership program” that you’ll hear more about at Gathering of Neighbors. Click here to download the registration form – you can e-mail it to phillippiag@dnda.org or send via postal mail to Phillippia Goldsmith, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle 98106.
(Photos courtesy Stir It Up Productions; above, Francine at left, Laurel at right) By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle filmmaker Francine Strickwerda and her business partner Laurel Spellman Smith are freelance filmmakers focusing on social and environmental issues. Their latest work-in-progress is “Oil and Water,” focusing on two young men fighting the presence of oil companies in the Amazon rainforest, with a screening planned this Thursday at the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle.
ORIGINAL 6:35 PM NOTE: Separate from the fire incident that’s wrapping up downhill, police are handling a problem with a truck that’s blocked off 22nd SW before the downhill curves – and the tow truck won’t arrive for an hour or so. They’re putting up closure signs at 20th SW/Holden and 21st SW/Webster.
ADDED 10:33 PM: Jon shared photos (one is added, above) “of the truck that was stuck down the street from my house. He had a load of sheetrock for Home Depot. The tow truck was able to pull the end of the trailer back so he could get down the hill. Somehow we need to get the city to put signs up at 16th and Holden so they don’t do this. This isn’t the first one in my 14 years here.”
(Photo substituted at 6:25 pm for original 5:53 pm cameraphone pic) ORIGINAL 5:41 PM REPORT: We’re on our way to the fire reported in the 5000 block of Delridge (map). Per the scanner, it’s a duplex, and everybody got out OK. “Small amount” of flames said to be visible from the roof. Police are being called in to help divert traffic around the fire scene. 5:50 PM UPDATE: Our crew’s arriving and confirms Delridge is blocked.
From the scanner, fire is described as “tapped.” Our crew is seeing firefighters cutting holes to ventilate the roof. 6:01 PM UPDATE: Incident commander tells us the fire was in a range hood. Police, via scanner, expect Delridge will be blocked another 15 minutes or so. 6:26 PM UPDATE: No word of reopening yet. Added a few more photos, including this closer look at the deployed ladder:
Tomorrow, the entire City of Seattle website is scheduled to launch a new look, “making services more accessible,” according to the mayor’s office. Today, Seattle City Light> is already a bit ahead of the curve – with a new “outage tracker” already online. City Light’s Scott Thomsen walked us through it: Go to the SCL home page at seattle.gov/light – and note the System Status box in the right sidebar:
Caveat, this will look different after tomorrow’s redesign launches – but the same info will be available in this order, toward the top of the page. If there’s an outage, a click in the box will take you to a map, where the outage will be marked in red (the bigger the outage, the bigger the mark, but as you zoom in on the map, you’ll get to something like this) – a click on the red brings up a bubble with outage basics:
The biggest thing, Thomsen explains, is that this will be updated every 15 minutes, and it will automatically get new information from what City Light workers are learning from callers and crew members. Previously, the utility used a seldom-used webpage that sometimes displayed outage information – and more often didn’t – Thomsen explains that it wasn’t linked into outage-related info the way this new one is. In addition, the old system wouldn’t be called into action for small outages; this one will show outages of any size. You still need to call and report them, he emphasizes – City Light does not yet have the technology to automatically detect them. But the new software enabling the online “system status” will enable more features around next February, Thomsen adds – perhaps even phone notifications when the outage at your house is over.
(Photo courtesy Symetra Financial)
That’s Randy Harkness, who’s taught first grade at West Seattle’s Sanislo Elementary School for more than 20 years. His new jersey is part of what he was given during a special surprise presentation today – Symetra Financial and the Seahawks honored him as a “Hero in the Classroom.” He was nominated by principal Ernie Seevers, who is quoted in Symetra’s announcement as saying, “He made a choice to contribute to our community’s future by working with our youngest scholars, and he has delivered the gift of literacy to two generations of children.” This season, the Heroes in the Classroom program will honor two dozen K-12 teachers around Western Washington, and Harkness is the 8th, as well as the 1st one from West Seattle. Besides the jersey, he got a certificate and tickets to a Seahawks home game as well as acknowledgment on the field – he’ll get his shoutout when the Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals on October 24th. The award also makes Sanislo eligible for a $10,000 MVP Award – three of the schools with teacher honorees this season will get those awards at the end of the football season. (P.S. Another West Seattle teacher was honored this time last year – Christopher Robert from Roxhill.)
The Luna Park Italian restaurant Café Revo has closed, according to an announcement just received via e-mail:
Anyone who has enjoyed dining at West Seattle’s Café Revò will be saddened to hear that the Italian restaurant, with its tradition of “Mangia, bevi & godi” has been forced to close its doors. Despite the untimely death of Chef Chano a year ago (just months after they opened their doors), his wife Sofia Goff and a talented staff did their best to keep this unique restaurant going. But in the current, difficult economy, this proved to be impossible, and months of searching for a buyer were unsuccessful. Sofia and her family feel that the employees of Café Revo are like family and have kept the restaurant open longer than they could afford to do, out of the employees’ best interest. Sofia hopes that her wonderful employees will find work quickly and she gives them all her support with the best regards.
The announcement is from a group called “Friends of Sofia Goff,” which also says Sofia and her two children are now in “a desperate financial situation,” so they have set up a fund to help. You can donate at any US Bank branch, making a check to the Friends of Sofia Goff Fund. The group makes it clear these donations are not tax-deductible, “but will certainly go to a good cause,” and notes that Sofia and Café Revo have been very active in volunteering and donating to the community, through local schools as well as nonprofit organizations. You also can send cards and donations to her at 4742 42nd SW, #363, Seattle 98116. Her husband Sean “Chano” Goff died in September 2009, just 43 years old; the restaurant had opened the preceding February.
Our partners at the Seattle Timesjust broke the news: The second suspect in last May’s Highland Park attack is now in jail. According to the King County Jail Register, 22-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was booked just after 4:30 yesterday afternoon. As first reported here, the other suspect, 21-year-old Jonathan Baquiring, was jailed shortly after the charges were made public on September 21st. As detailed in the police-report narrative, the teen victim reported being assaulted for hours by two men who made racist remarks during the attack. Mohamed and Baquiring are both charged with robbery and malicious harassment; Baquiring has pleaded not guilty.
(Report on Pakistan flood-refugee camp, published last Saturday by The Guardian)
“The largest humanitarian crisis the international community has ever faced” is how Nazleen Ejarque describes the Pakistan flood disaster, in the announcement of a West Seattle benefit to reach out across the globe. Though the flooding happened two months ago, its aftermath continues to affect millions. On October 22nd, 6:30-8:30 pm at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation church in Gatewood (7141 California SW), Nazleen is organizing a fundraiser for FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance, which is responding with search/rescue/evacuation as well as distributing food and medical/relief supplies. Food, dance performances, and henna painting are part of the plan; a $5 donation (for adults) is suggested. Nazleen says, “Please join us in this cause to help those in need…no matter their religion, color or class.” Here’s the full flyer for the 10/22 event. Questions? nazpejarque@yahoo.com
By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Serving the community and reaching out to neighbors were key topics at the monthly meeting of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council at the Delridge Library on Monday night.
Most of the meeting was devoted to a presentation and discussion with Brian Waid and Andy Horner from the Rotary Club of West Seattle (see WSB’s archive of WS Rotary news). NDNC co-chair Jay Mirro said they’re hoping to invite more groups and speakers such as the Rotary Club to the monthly NDNC meetings, to build relationships and better serve the Delridge neighborhood.
Waid and Horner encouraged NDNC leaders (and members of the community at-large) to visit the WS Rotary website for information about the group’s activities, meetings, and mission. Read More
If you haven’t already heard about this via Facebookor Twitter, we’re mentioning here too: Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is offering free mammograms tomorrow at Roxbury Safeway, 8:30 am-7:30 pm – criteria: “Uninsured women between 40 and 64.” But you need to call for an appointment: 206.288.7800.
(P.S. If you miss out on this, West Seattle Community Clinic has its next day of free breast/cervical screening for uninsured/underinsured 40-65-year-olds on Nov. 6; call 206.937.9722.)
It’s the eastern border for much of West Seattle, the front porch for South Park, a lifeline for everything from salmon to industry, and it has some of the worst pollution in the U.S. What’s in the Duwamish River‘s future? Sustainable West Seattle has just announced an all-star lineup for its next Community Forum, coming up 7 pm Monday night at Camp Long – read on for the official announcement:Read More
(WSB video of the Hi-Yu volunteers and float in the July 2009 Seafair Torchlight Parade downtown)
Another award-winning parade season ended recently for West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival leaders, volunteers, and royalty, with their trip to the Issaquah Salmon Days Parade. But the end of summer never means the end of their work – it’s time to start looking ahead to next year – and renewing community support. Here’s one way you can be part of it:
West Seattle Hi-Yu is starting off the Fall season with a fundraiser through PartyLite. Hi-Yu will receive 50% of sales to go toward the expenses of the Summer Festival, including building/transporting/upkeep of the float, and scholarships for young women in our community.
There are 3 products to choose from, which you can view at smithwicks.net. Just click on “fundraisers” and then “fundraiser products.” (However, items need to be ordered through Carol Winston.) There are a variety of wonderful holiday scents and the items make perfect hostess gifts for parties coming up, teacher gifts and all-occasion gifts. Many in the community are already familiar with these candles and know the benefit of non-lead wicks (no black soot), long burn time, and no leftover wax.
Please help support our community festival! Items can be ordered through Carol Winston. Please send an email to winstonfamily@yahoo.com to communicate your interest. Questions about the product can be directed to Cecile Smith 206-730-1202. There is sales tax of 9.5%, but no shipping costs. Orders must be received by October 17th.
That’s this Sunday – the same day as the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, where you can get one more look at the much-honored 2010 Hi-Yu float, “Dreams Do Come True” (full festival schedule here).
In our daily/nightly election update, with three weeks till E-Day, and just days till voting starts, a grab bag of links: The county issued its official reminder of impending ballots … President Obama is coming back to Seattle Oct. 21 to campaign for Sen. Patty Murray (remember what happened last time) … The City Council endorses both ballot measures involving $ for schools (or projects in/at them) … “Social media” watch: Only 1 candidate of the 4 in our area’s Big Two races posted a social-media campaign-page/account update on Monday – King County Council District 8 candidate Diana Toledoposted a “ballot’s on the way” reminder on Facebook … Event watch: Next candidate forum in West Seattle is Wednesday, with 34th District State House Position 2 hopefuls Joe Fitzgibbon and Mike Heavey at the West Seattle Kiwanis luncheon (full details here).
Just got word today from 
In our daily/nightly election update, with three weeks till E-Day, and just days till voting starts, a grab bag of links: The county issued
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