day : 03/07/2012 8 results

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports tonight. First – have you seen the painting at right? If so, police need to know. Its artist, Mariel, says it was on display at the Admiral Theater – until someone stole it:

Recently, I put up a few paintings inside the Admiral Theater. They’ve been up now for a few months. Last week however, I went to the theater to watch a movie. I looked at my art as I walked by, and everything appeared in place. Upon exiting, I started chatting with Dinah, the manager. She mentioned how much people love the paintings, etc. She mentioned one of them.

As I looked over, my boyfriend & I both noticed it was missing.

Mariel’s report continues – along with two other reported West Seattle thefts – ahead:Read More

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West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade tomorrow, & parking reminder

July 3, 2012 7:25 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from 2010 4th of July Kids’ Parade)
All systems are go for tomorrow morning’s West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade through North Admiral streets, according to coordinator Sherri Chun. And she has one big reminder for people who are either coming to the parade in the morning or going to be in the area for some other reason:

I was just down along the parade route and I was asked by a resident to get the word out – please do not park on Atlantic Street between Sunset and California. This is along the parade route, and if you park there you will actually be obstructing the parade. The parade route runs south on Sunset to Atlantic, east on Atlantic, across California, then north again on Palm, ending at Hamilton Viewpoint Park. The police do not enforce parking. They are there to manage traffic during the parade.

Here’s the route on a map:

View West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade in a larger map

It starts at 44th and Sunset at 10 am tomorrow – kids of all ages welcome, whether walking, riding a bike or scooter, being pulled in a wagon, as long as it’s non-motorized; the fire engine ~~and pickup truck~~ at the head of the parade are usually the only motorized vehicles involved. And if you can, please bring a dollar or two for the donation boxes at the start of the parade route and the end (Hamilton Viewpoint, where there’ll be games on the green as long as the weather’s OK – the parade is rain or shine, the games are weather-dependent) – there’ll be concessions, too, offered by the Admiral Neighborhood Association. For even more parade info – all the way down to the anthem singer! – check our preview from 2 weeks ago.

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West Seattle traffic alert: Pre-holiday getaway time

July 3, 2012 5:17 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Thanks to @pockrat for tweeting that photo of a traffic backup on Fauntleroy SW north of Lincoln Park a little while ago. Fauntleroy is likely to be busy as the holiday getaway traffic adds to the usual evening-commute ferry lines – plus the RapidRide-related construction continues in the dock vicinity. If you’re heading out, whether by ferry or bridge, we have a variety of relevant local cameras on the WSB Traffic page.

P.S. Speaking of traffic alerts – if you saw our story earlier about Friday’s Admiral offramp closure on the westbound West Seattle Bridge – please note, the story’s been updated; the time frame has changed to a window between 9 am-3 pm.

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West Seattle police: ‘All hands on deck’ for patrols this summer

July 3, 2012 2:42 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

A comment discussion following our story on Sunday night’s Highland Park crash included a discussion of why there’s not always someone on duty at the Southwest Precinct front desk. Today, precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen explains that and other temporary changes are part of a citywide summer emphasis on maximizing patrols:

To our West Seattle Community Members,

The summer months are historically very busy for us due to numerous special events as well an increase in emergency calls for service. We have noticed that City-wide, our response times for priority 1 calls have edged into our 7 minute expectations. This increase is due to several factors which includes staffing, summer 911 call loads as well as an increase in crimes of violence which the Department has responded with Safety Emphasis patrols in many parts of the City. The emphasis patrols are gleaned from each precinct and centralized for City-Wide deployments.

Given these recent demands, we have put “all hands on deck” and reassigned our Community Police Team officers and other precinct staff into patrol cars for 911 response.

This decision was difficult and has caused us a great amount of dissonance because we firmly believe that keeping our precinct open and available to our community is very important in maintaining that partnership we value.

We will make every attempt to staff a precinct desk officer so folks can personally stop by for questions as well as get needed assistance. I would like to apologize in advance that our hours of availability will be limited and sporadic at best. Most likely if the precinct is actually open, it will be weekdays between 8am and 2pm. Outside of those hours, there is a telephone next to the main entrance where folks will be directed to our Communications Dispatch Center who can assess individual calls and send an officer for assistance.

I am anticipating that we will be back to normal operations this September…Your men and women police officers of the Southwest Precinct wish everyone in West Seattle a fun and safe summer. Again, thank you for understanding as well as helping us make West Seattle one of the safest communities in the City.

Sincerely,

Captain Steven Paulsen
Commander, Southwest Precinct

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Followup: Go Ape zipline/swing proposal for Lincoln Park – where it stands, and more

July 3, 2012 11:59 am

| 137 COMMENTS

| Lincoln Park zipline proposal | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(Start of GoApe course in Great Britain’s Delamere Forest. Photo copyright Jonathan Kington; licensed for reuse via Creative Commons)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Go Ape proposal to build and operate a commercial zipline/rope-swing attraction across six-plus acres of 135-acre Lincoln Park‘s treetops did not just swoop in out of the blue.

We’ve been gathering more information in the four days since we broke the news about the proposal – which had not previously been brought to general public attention, though the city and the UK-based company have been working together for almost a year. Our original report is now the third-most-commented-on non-snow story in WSB’s five years of covering West Seattle news, with 235 comments as of this morning.

The comments so far are mostly expressions of concern or opposition. Last weekend, opponents launched a Facebook page – “Stop GoApe Zipline in Lincoln Park.” So far, we have not heard of any corresponding effort by supporters (if there is, please let us know).

In research so far, we found that two other urban-park-based proposals in the U.S., where it has three locations in addition to its two-dozen-plus in Europe, were dropped after opposition similar to what’s being voiced here, while one potential location, on land owned by a California airport, appeared to have been welcomed by the community. Ahead – more on that as well as new information about how the Lincoln Park proposal emerged, and what happens next:

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Fauntlee Hills woman’s 2011 death now classified as homicide

July 3, 2012 9:44 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

When Seattle Police launched an upgraded version of their SPD Blotter website yesterday, it included a new feature: This list of unsolved murders. The list of victims of course includes Greggette Guy, found dead off Beach Drive in March. But there’s another West Seattle victim on the list, one we didn’t notice, till SeattlePI.com crime reporter Casey McNerthney (whose report is here) did: Kaari Higgins, who died after being found seriously injured in a home on SW Concord in Fauntlee Hills in January 2011. There had been rumors her death might have been homicide, but when we checked with police in early 2011, it was not classified as such, and that’s the last we heard of the case, until now. The brief summary on the new SPD “Catch a Killer” page:

Kaari Higgins was a loving mother to her two children, 10-year-old Ryan, and 13-year-old Lindsey. Kaari was found injured and unconscious inside her home on 44th Avenue SW and SW Concord Street on January 8, 2011. Medics rushed Kaari to Harborview, where she died from her injuries. The King County Medical Examiner determined Kaari’s injuries were not caused by an accident or a fall, and this case is being investigated as a homicide.

If you have any information on this or other unsolved homicide cases, the SPD Tip Line is (206) 233-5000. Ms. Higgins and Ms. Guy are the only West Seattle victims on the list, which SPD says dates back to January 2010.

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Think … snow? West Seattle Bridge temperature-sensor installation

July 3, 2012 9:23 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(EDITOR’S NOTE: It has changed twice but as of Thursday afternoon, the Friday ramp closure is now scheduled for 6-9 am, per SDOT)

ORIGINAL 9:23 AM REPORT: A few people have asked about the portable sign around the merge point from 99 to the westbound highrise West Seattle Bridge, warning the Admiral exit will be closed ~~6-9 am~~ on Friday (July 6th). That didn’t match any of the advisories we usually get, so we asked SDOT what it’s about. Spokesperson Peg Nielsen says it’s a short closure for installation of a temperature sensor. You might recall that sensors for bridges around the city were mentioned in Mayor McGinn’s budget speech last fall; they’re expected to help improve the response to wintertime trouble, especially when conditions change quickly, and outside forecast parameters.

4:54 PM UPDATE: SDOT has just sent an official advisory, and the closure times have changed to a window between 9 am and 3 pm Friday:

West Seattle Bridge, Admiral Way Exit
Friday, July 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (expected to be approximately three hours during this period)
*The off-ramp to Admiral Way from the West Seattle Bridge will be closed and traffic will be detoured to harbor Avenue, Avalon Way, SW Manning Street, and back to Admiral Way.

ADDED: A little more info about the sensors, from SDOT’s Marybeth Turner:

They will be installed on a total of 8 elevated structures around the city.

After installing the sensors, we will have to get them connected properly and get any bugs worked out before they will be ready to use

Once they are operating, they will tell us the surface and ambient temperatures.

This info will give real time info to SDOT’s snow/ice responders to help them determine when to apply anti icing liquid or granular salt. The info will also be used for the U of W for the Snow Watch program.

UPDATED 3:17 PM THURSDAY: The closure time is now BACK to 6 am-9 am.

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West Seattle Tuesday: What’s up as the holiday approaches

July 3, 2012 8:50 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(That’s Schmitz Park in the center of pilot/photographer Long Bach Nguyen‘s image)
Happy day-before-the-4th! If you’re looking for holiday info, find it on the WSB West Seattle 4th of July page; as for today, here are a few notes:

NO BRIDGE CLOSURES TILL THE WEEKEND: Since we usually start the daily preview with an update on what’s closed today/tonight – we’ll note here that everything’s open. No 99 closures are scheduled for the rest of the week; the Spokane Street Viaduct has nothing planned until a Thursday night lane closure and then the full-weekend westbound closure (both detailed here).

LIBRARY STORY TIMES: There are three in West Seattle on the Seattle Public Library calendar today – see the list here.

LOWEST TIDE OF THE MONTH: It’s down to -3.4 feet at 11:03 am today, and the Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out too – 10 am-2 pm at Constellation Park south of Alki Point and at Lincoln Park (usually near Colman Pool).

FUNDRAISER FOR FIRE-AFFECTED PETS: Tonight at Beveridge Place Pub, a special beer offering, to raise money for pets affected by the Colorado fires, 6-9 pm, details here.

STAND-UP PADDLEBOARDING: Haven’t had time to check out the Tuesday night races before? Maybe tonight! 6 pm from Alki Kayak Tours‘ HQ at Seacrest.

NIGHTLIFE: Jason Sees performs at Löcöl tonight, 7 pm … Trivia That Rocks at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm … Baby Ketten Karaoke at Skylark Café and Club, 9 pm …

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