day : 08/11/2011 10 results

Election 2011, 1st-night results: Car-tab tax loses, privatized liquor wins, McLaren leading Sundquist for School Board

(UPDATED 11:07 PM WITH MORE REACTION)
Tonight’s first and only round of election results from King County is now published. Here are the toplines on major issues/races (including the latest statewide numbers):

SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT DIST. PROP 1 ($60 car-tab tax):
60% no
40% yes
Reaction from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen: ““It’s clear that voters support better transit and safer streets, but it’s also apparent that we need more progressive options for how cities fund building our transportation systems. That’s why despite tonight’s setback, this is just the beginning.”

SEATTLE PROP 1 (Families and Education Levy)
59% yes
41% no
From statement by Mayor Mike McGinn: “This Levy is focused on outcomes. We will design programs to achieve clear outcomes and hold service providers accountable, ensuring that the programs we fund are delivering measurable results. We will make our investments based on data, and we will adapt those investments if the data shows something is not working.”

STATE INITIATIVE 1183 (liquor privatization)
60% yes
40% no
Reaction from Gov. Gregoire: ““The voters have spoken. I remain concerned about Initiative 1183’s unintended consequences. This initiative expands the sale of liquor, which can present risks to our public safety. Additionally, we know that Washington has one of the nation’s highest ‘no sales to minors’ compliance rates at 95 percent – compared to the private sector, which has a 76 percent compliance rate. We must closely monitor the implementation of Initiative 1183 and work to avoid any unintended public safety risks.”

STATE INITIATIVE 1125 (tolling)
51% no
49% yes
Reaction from County Executive Dow Constantine (via WSB partner The Seattle Times): “It means that we have once again said to Tim Eyman and his wealthy backers, ‘We are not gonna take it from you any more’.”

STATE INITIATIVE 1163 (home care)
67% yes
33% no

See other statewide ballot measures’ results here

SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD:
Position 1 – Maier* 52%, Peaslee 48%
Position 2 – Carr* 55%, Martin 45%
Position 3 – Martin-Morris* 61%, Buetow 39%
Position 6 – McLaren 51%, Sundquist* 48%
Reaction from Marty McLaren (via WSB partner The Seattle Times): “I’m thrilled … It seems like the voters have heard the message.”

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL:
Position 1 – Godden* 54%, Forch 46%
Position 3 – Harrell* 62%, Meacham 38%
Position 5 – Rasmussen* 73%, Pusey 27%
Position 7 – Burgess* 81%, Schraer 19%
Position 9 – Clark* 65%, Ferguson 34%

KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
McDermott* 67%
Toledo 33%

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION
Position 2 – Tarleton* 56%, Pope 44%
Position 5 – Bryant* 63%, Willard 37%

(Asterisks denote incumbents.) Next King County results release: Around 4:30 pm Wednesday.

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Dates set for West Seattle Junction’s Hometown Holidays 2011

November 8, 2011 6:34 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news

Starting to fill up your holiday calendar? More dates to add – courtesy of the West Seattle Junction Association. WSJA director Susan Melrose (in a comment on the Junction trick-or-treat-street discussion) announced this afternoon that the schedule’s now published – see it here. Highlights include the Junction Tree Lighting event, 5 pm on Saturday, December 3rd; Santa photos on three Sundays; mule-drawn-carriage rides on two Sundays; and something new – a nighttime Farmers’ Market, 5-8 pm on Thursday, December 22nd, in Junction Plaza Park. Also watch for your chance to enter The Junction’s $3,000 holiday raffle.

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Fresh Bistro: Welcoming a new West Seattle Blog sponsor

November 8, 2011 4:50 pm

| 14 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

We’re welcoming one of our newest WSB sponsors today – Fresh Bistro in The Junction, on the ground floor at Mural (4725 42nd SW).

As always, new sponsors are offered the chance to share information about their business. Here’s some of what Fresh Bistro is proudest of:

Relaxed, Comfortable, Fresh
Diners can escape to an intimate environment influenced by artistic farm murals and an open floor plan and kitchen. Fresh Bistro delivers the true essence of a bistro experience with indoor and seasonal, outdoor seating, personable service and welcoming atmosphere. Our menus showcase a variety of flavorful selections for every palate, including seafood, vegetarian offerings, meat, and salads. On-the-go diners can enjoy gourmet takeout, while parties can take advantage of our private space for up to 16 guests. Each menu creation is inspired by our passion for bringing sustainable and eco-friendly ideals to the table through an innovative and savvy use of the season’s best from local food producers.

Service, Sustainability, Stewardship
Fresh Bistro staff strives to deliver the highest level of service to every guest and is equally committed to the serving the environment and community. Along with sourcing ingredients from local producers and farmers, we continuously seek new ways to use area suppliers, assisting the economy and agriculture community. We are dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint with sustainable business practices, including recycling, composting, and reuse of products.

Right now, diners can get an exclusive “25% off brunch” code by
“liking” Fresh Bistro on Facebook – facebook.com/freshbistro. Fresh Bistro also is participating in Dine Around Seattle, Sundays through Thursdays, three courses for $30 – see the menu options here. (Make reservations online by going here.) And it’s all-night Happy Hour in the bar, Mondays-Thursdays.

We thank Fresh Bistro for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

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West Seattle business: Viking Bank shareholders OK merger

November 8, 2011 4:13 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle business: Viking Bank shareholders OK merger

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

As reported here two months ago, Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank is seeking to buy Viking Bank (WSB sponsor), which has a West Seattle branch in The Junction – and the deal’s just cleared a hurdle. Viking announced today that its shareholders have “approved the plan of merger and acquisition,” with “yes” votes representing more than 88 percent of Viking’s shares. The bank’s announcement says, “The transaction is expected to close before year end and is subject to customary closing conditions including the approval of Viking Bank’s regulatory agencies.” Once everything’s finalized, Viking is expected to become part of AmericanWest, including a name change, according to this FAQ.

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Heads up for tomorrow: Emergency Alert System test

November 8, 2011 1:21 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

At 11 am tomorrow, the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will be seen and heard on a variety of media – over-the-air/cable/satellite TV, radio, etc. The test is scheduled to last about (updated) thirty seconds. Authorities are worried people will call 911 to find out what’s going on – so in a word, DON’T. According to the official federal info about the test, here’s what you will hear and see:

During the test, listeners will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” Although the EAS Test may resemble the periodic, monthly EAS tests that most Americans are already familiar with, there will be some differences in what viewers will see and hear. The audio message will be the same for all EAS Participants; however, due to limitations in the EAS, the video test message scroll may not be the same or indicate that “This is a test.” This is due to the use of the live EAN code – the same code that would be used in an actual emergency. The text at the top of the television screen may indicate that an “Emergency Action Notification has been issued.” This notification is used to disseminate a national alert and in this case, the test. In addition, the background image that appears on video screens during an alert may indicate that “This is a test,” but in some instances there might not be an image at all.

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Golden Apple Award for Denny/Sealth music’s Marcus Pimpleton

November 8, 2011 11:12 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

(Marcus Pimpleton directing CSIHS/WSHS musicians during last month’s Huling Bowl)
He is perhaps the most visible school-music leader in West Seattle – and he’s just won a big honor: KCTS has announced its latest list of “Golden Apple Awards,” and on the list of individual winners is Marcus Pimpleton, music director at Denny International Middle School and band director at adjacent Chief Sealth International High School, who also directs Seattle’s All-City Band. He’s the only West Seattle winner in this year’s awards, which will be presented at a ceremony next year; winners also receive a cash prize and will be profiled by Channel 9. Congratulations, Mr. Pimpleton!

ADDED 11:38 AM: We asked for his reaction, and here it is!

I am thankful to the parents who nominated me for this award and to KCTS and Pemco for the honor. It goes without saying that I am very proud of the work we are doing in the Denny and Sealth Music Programs as well as with the Seattle Schools All-City Band. I am excited about the opportunity that the KCTS Golden Apple Program provides to shine some light on our programs and students. None of the work we have engaged in would be possible if it were not for the high level of community support we have received, the parents who have volunteered and caught on to the vision of ensuring high level musical experiences and access to all students, the leadership of principals Jeff Clark and John Boyd who bought in to the vision for a 6-12 music pathway and had the conviction to lay the foundation for it, and most importantly the “buy in” of student leaders who commit themselves to participating in our student leadership programming and to mentoring peers and incoming students through our spring and midwinter break camps, our Junior All-City Band program, and in various other capacities too lengthy to mention here. It is with a great community of supporters that this award is shared. Thank you all.

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West Seattle Tuesday: Election; road work; Admiral; Fauntleroy

November 8, 2011 10:31 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Delayed by breaking news, here’s our abbreviated daily preview, with 5 items worth noting before it’s too late:

ELECTION DAY: If you’re using a dropbox (downtown is the closest), your ballot needs to be in it by 8 pm. If you’re mailing your ballot, it has to be postmarked today. More info here. (P.S. USPS says as long as you get your ballot into a collection box before its last scheduled pickup time for today, it’ll have today’s postmark.)

TRAFFIC ALERT #1: SDOT crews are scheduled to start 2 weeks of work replacing concrete panels on 16th Avenue SW at SW Myrtle; details (including traffic logistics) here.

TRAFFIC ALERT #2: Overnight closures of the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct are expected to continue all week – 10 pm to 5 am again tonight; more details here.

ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Monthly meeting at 7 pm, Admiral Congregational Church (California/Hill), with officer elections on the association‘s agenda.

FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Monthly board meeting tonight for the Fauntleroy Community Association, all welcome, 7 pm at the schoolhouse (9131 California SW).

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Update: School bus & car collide; 2 to hospital including baby

November 8, 2011 9:16 am

| 20 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

ORIGINAL 9:16 AM REPORT: What was a major “heavy rescue” response to 18th/Elmgrove (map) has just been downgraded to a “motor vehicle accident with multiple patients,” per the scanner. We have a crew on the way to the scene.

9:29 AM UPDATE: The patients are described as a 30-year-old man with shoulder pain and a 10-month-old baby who was in the back seat of the car that was involved. Both are being taken to the hospital but neither is described as seriously hurt, per the scanner. Our crew at the scene says a school bus also was involved, with about six kids on board, reported to be from Roxhill Elementary, but none of them are reported hurt, and another bus is arriving to take them to school.

9:56 AM UPDATE: Police tell us they are still sorting out the circumstances of the crash. As the photo above shows, both the school bus and the car involved wound up on the sidewalk/lawn of property at the intersection. SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore has spoken to media at the scene and confirms that the school bus’s seven students and driver were all checked out and are OK:

A tow truck has already arrived.

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Got an unused bike (or parts)? Donate at ‘Wine and Bikes’

November 8, 2011 5:30 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | WS beverages

No, it’s not about pedaling under the influence. Bicycles for Humanity Seattle and the Northwest Wine Academy are teaming up on November 19th to collect donated bikes/parts at an event also featuring the fall release of four new student-created wines: 2009 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Merlot, 2010 Chardonnay and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Set your reminder for noon-5 pm on the 19th, South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th SW. The bikes go to South Africa, for villagers to use for work-related transportation in an area where 1 in 2 are unemployed; all types of bikes are welcome – mountain and road bikes, adult bikes, kids’ bikes.

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Opinion: ‘… Most of the people in the room were afraid of ME’

November 8, 2011 1:45 am

| 76 COMMENTS

| Opinion | West Seattle news

EDITOR’S NOTE: In the ongoing discussion over the Downtown Emergency Service Center plan for a 75-apartment building in Delridge to house homeless people living with mental illness, we have heard many voices – concerned neighbors, supportive neighbors, neighbors remaining neutral to try to coordinate discussion/information, neighborhood-group leaders, DESC executives, government funders. Not long after last month’s Delridge Community Forum about the project, we happened onto a Facebook note by a Delridge resident/community activist who was viewing the discussion through another prism: That of a person living with mental illness, who has experienced homelessness. She gave us permission to publish it as an opinion essay.

By Galena White
Special to West Seattle Blog

I attended the community meeting about the DESC project on October 11th. It was intended to serve as a bridge between the residents of my neighborhood and an organization that wants to build an assisted-living community in my neighborhood.

I understand that at the first public meeting for this project, there was significant resistance to the idea, mainly because residents were worried about the character of the residents-to-be. At the meeting I attended, there were some mentions of concern over whether the new residents would have sufficient access to health care and groceries, since our neighborhood is mostly residential and has few amenities. Unfortunately, I believe those concerns to have been weak justification for the anger, fear, and prejudice that was palpable in the room. I think that most of the people who attended were afraid that crazy homeless criminals were going to invade their community. The two women who sat at my table seemed extremely upset, saying that the project was unacceptable because it would be within a block of their homes and children.

One official mentioned that the other residents who live in DESC housing have an overall lower crime rate than the general populace, and also said that the crimes those residents had committed were mostly related to loitering, because they had been homeless. I’ve been homeless. I spent most of the time from 1998 to 2003 with nothing but a backpack (with no income for a lot of the time) or living in a van because I couldn’t afford an apartment.

I was eventually lucky enough to find housing in a similar project to this one, and then to graduate to a regular apartment which is funded in part by a national low-income-housing program. Many others are not as fortunate, because there are not currently enough buildings and not enough funding to provide help to those who desperately need it. Since I found housing, I’ve been attending college, going to therapy, volunteering in my community and trying to overcome my disability. My hope is to eventually have a good job, a garden, and the ability to travel. If organizations like the DESC had not been able to find cheap land to build housing, I might now only be dreaming of spending the day in the library to stay warm.

When the meeting had already gone over-time, the facilitator was scrambling to find a representative from the City of Seattle to answer a question about what it would be like to have mentally ill people living in the neighborhood. I wanted to stand up and speak, but she had specifically asked for replies from invited speakers – no doubt because she didn’t think that any of the community members had anything positive to say about the mentally ill. I would have stood, despite my crippling anxiety (and probably embarrassed myself by stuttering), to tell everyone in the room that I am mentally ill.

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