day : 15/02/2011 11 results

(SPD’s Lt. Pierre Davis (left) and Lt. Darin Chinn talk with community members at the SW Precinct)

Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

West Seattle residents and Block Watch leaders gathered Tuesday night at Southwest Precinct for the monthly meeting of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, to hear positive news about recent crime trends – but also to hear a presentation that served as a sobering reminder of ongoing drug problems facing communities as a whole.

SW Precinct Lt. Pierre Davis (pictured above, at left) reported that in the past month, there has been a “39% decrease in property crimes” in West Seattle, following a “spike in activity” in January in which burglaries and car prowls were more frequent.

Lt. Davis said that SPD “mobilized more patrols” in response to that spike, and worked closely with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and community members to identify troublesome individuals and “basically take them off the streets.” He cited yesterday’s arrest of an “active car prowl suspect” as a major success story in these ongoing efforts, which include a crackdown on catalytic converter thefts from parked cars.

A major goal, Lt. Davis said, is to build strong cases against the repeat offenders to keep them behind bars longer – more like “25-50 months” versus much shorter sentences.

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Video: Chief Sealth boys’ basketball team wins state-playoffs spot

February 15, 2011 10:14 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

From Bellevue College: Chief Sealth International High School over Mercer Island HS, 68-54. That guarantees the Seahawks a state-playoffs spot. More to come.

ADDED: More details, and video, ahead:Read More

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Update: Nobody hurt in Westwood Village crash

February 15, 2011 8:36 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Thanks to Donna at Giannoni’s Pizza for sending that photo of a car crash at Westwood Village. More info to come, but from the first photos, looks like the car just nosed into one of the Pier 1 Imports front windows.

8:58 PM UPDATE: SPD tells us that just after 8 PM tonight, the woman driving the Toyota Camry jumped the curb and drove into the front window of Pier 1. They say it appears the car was parked out front and that she intended to put the car into reverse and pull away but accidentally put the car into drive. There were no injuries. Fire crews remain at the scene securing the broken glass and boarding up the window. The store manager tells us that a glass repair company is on the way and that the store will be open for business as usual tomorrow. Video and more photos to come.

9:30 PM UPDATE: Adding a few pictures from Christopher Boffoli:

10:26 PM UPDATE: Here’s Christopher’s brief video clip:

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Followup: Sale, new name confirmed for closed Tom Yum Koong

February 15, 2011 6:30 pm

| 23 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Following up on last night’s report about the closing of Tom Yum Koong in The Junction – we have confirmed that it’s indeed been sold to Kay Fuengarom, owner of Zab Thai in Everett and Chaiyo Thai in Northgate The new restaurant will be named Bang Bar Thai (pronounced “bahng”) and is expected to open within two months, once renovations are completed, according to WSB contributor Bill “Hutch” Hutchison, who’s been working on the story. Among the renovations he’s learned of – a new neon sign, designed and constructed by Western Neon in SODO. No other details yet on the new ownership’s plans, but we’re expecting to find out more during the renovation period.

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Followup: New location for West Seattle Junction liquor store

February 15, 2011 3:42 pm

| 47 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS beverages

A new development today in the saga of the West Seattle Junction state liquor store, which we’ve been following since the state confirmed last May that the store might move; in October, that became “will move.” The new location is official, according to Anne Radford with the Liquor Control Board; this summer, the store will move into Capco Plaza (41st/Alaska), the same building as the Junction QFC. (As reported here in late December, the California SW location’s lease was extended till the end of June.)

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North Delridge Neighborhood Council briefed on Fire Station 36 project

February 15, 2011 2:55 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Delridge | West Seattle news

A team of four city employees visited last night’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting for a briefing on the work coming up at Fire Station 36 – that’s the one next to The Bridge, just past the north end of Delridge Way SW. The project is technically a big deal for the city because it requires some “right of way” – property once set aside for streets/sidewalks – to be given to the Fire Department (“vacated”), which means extra process to wade through before it’s approved. In the graphic above, the purple area is the proposed “vacation,” which requires City Council approval.

In terms of public impact otherwise, the project won’t have much; it will include earthquake-safety upgrades and the addition of a 500-square-foot building (with decontamination facilities among other things). Station 36 has strategic importance including its bridge access and its status as headquarters for the marine-response team. The project – paid for by the city’s 2003 Fire Levy – is outlined here; while the crews technically will have to move out of Station 36 while the work is done (no sooner than next year), they won’t be going far – the visitors at last night’s NDNC meeting said the station’s temporary quarters will be set up on their current site. For even more details, here’s the fact sheet distributed at last night’s meeting.

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Pedal in a ‘spinathon’ to help get West Seattle teens onto 2 wheels!

February 15, 2011 11:48 am

| Comments Off on Pedal in a ‘spinathon’ to help get West Seattle teens onto 2 wheels!

| How to help | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

The Cascade Bicycle Club‘s Major Taylor Project, to help get tweens and teens into bicycling, is rolling into West Seattle, and you can be part of it at a “Spinathon” this Thursday night. 5-8 pm at Allstar Fitness in North Delridge, there’s a fundraiser for expanding the project to South King County sites including Chief Sealth International High School. Organizers say there are 2 ways to help:

1. Ride in the Spinathon – some spots still open! You can ride for 1 hour, 2 hours, or all 3 hours – from 5-6pm, 6-7 pm, or 7-8pm time slots. To register: e-mail opa@cascadebicycleclub.org or ed.ewing@cascadebicycleclub.org. Cost is a minimum $25 per hour donation. Checks can be made out to ‘Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation‘, which is a (501)(3)c. Participants can bring their donation the night of the event or mail to the address below.

2. For those not riding – you can help the program reach more kids in West Seattle
by donating to the Major Taylor Project. Two ways to donate:

Online (you’ll need to set up an account)
shop.cascade.org/content/major-taylor-project-stp-donation

or postal mail:

Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation Major Taylor Program
7400 Sand Point Way NE, Suite 101S
Seattle, WA 98115

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Thunderstorms possible again today

February 15, 2011 11:36 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Another “Special Weather Statement” out within the past hour from the National Weather Service – this time warning we might see thunderstorms again today. (Here’s our report from last night, with photos of the trees taken down by the wind that roared through on the heels of more ground-softening downpours.)

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Renovated Delridge Playfield opening; celebration set

February 15, 2011 10:23 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(Photo added 1:51 pm)
The fence is finally coming down at Delridge Playfield, which has brand-new turf as the result of a multi-million-dollar renovation project. Seattle Parks confirms that the fencing should all be down by tomorrow. They have also set the date for a community celebration, according to Parks’ Karen O’Connor: Saturday, March 12, 12:30 pm-2:30 pm (north field).

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West Seattle Tuesday: From remodels to rebounds, and beyond

February 15, 2011 8:19 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Photo of the morning is courtesy of Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), since one of tonight’s events is their monthly free workshop for those interested in remodeling and custom-building. Remodeling’s on the upswing, per this new report, and if you’re thinking about it, Ventana has a few spots for the 6 pm workshop at their 5458 California SW offices – call 206-932-3009 ASAP to RSVP (here’s the Facebook event page) … Also tonight: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s monthly meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) … It’s West Seattle Little League‘s last in-person registration night, 6-9 pm at the West Seattle High School Library (find the forms at westseattlelittleleague.com) … The Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys’ varsity basketball team continues its postseason by facing Mercer Island HS at Bellevue College, and Seattle Lutheran High School faces Bear Creek at Chief Leschi, both games at 8:15 pm … School tours today include Madison Middle School starting at 8:30, Chief Sealth IHS and Alki Elementary starting at 9:30, and kindergarten tours at Arbor Heights Elementary, also at 9:30 … And all this just scratches the surface of what you’ll find for today/tonight on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar.

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Amanda Knox’s parents ordered to stand trial in Italy

February 15, 2011 7:54 am

| 54 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Thanks to the WSB’er who just called to point out this is breaking on the international/national news services: The parents of Amanda Knox, including Edda Mellas of Arbor Heights, have been ordered to stand trial in Italy for allegedly libeling investigators by saying they had mistreated her daughter while questioning her in the murder case for which she was found guilty. The trial for Mellas and Curt Knox is set to start in July. More here from ABC News.

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