Truck tips near end of West Seattle Bridge, nobody hurt
(Photo courtesy Dave)
Earlier we reported on a flipped car – this evening, the problem on 33rd SW was a tipped truck. Police and firefighters responded to 33rd and Charlestown, which is just north of the stretch of Fauntleroy that runs along the southwest end of the West Seattle Bridge. They found the driver at the scene, but a passenger apparently took off after the crash. The 18-year-old male driver was not hurt, but was taken into custody; police were investigating this as a possible DUI.
Towing fee-cap proposal to be introduced this week – but too late for a West Seattle car-theft victim
(TUESDAY UPDATE: There’s a Thursday briefing at City Hall – agenda here)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Right after the Seattle City Council returns from its summer break post-Labor Day, a new set of rules will be proposed and is likely to generate intense debate.
It’s a proposal to change city rules to cap fees charged for “involuntary towing from private property” – also known as “private impounds” – announced a month ago by Mayor McGinn and Councilmember Nick Licata.
The actual package of proposed rules itself was not made public at the time of that announcement. In fact it was not finished and published until a few days ago (when we checked last month, a Licata staffer told WSB they were “tweaking it before we formally introduce it”). It’s now on the city website – see all the specifics here. The key points include:
A. Towing service fee: The maximum hourly fee that tow companies may charge for towing service for private impounds shall be no more $209 for the first hour and $130.60 for the second and subsequent hours for tows conducted with a Class A, D, or E tow truck. …
4. The hourly fee must be applied to the resulting net time and, after the first hour, must be rounded to the nearest fifteen minutes. …
B. Uncompleted tow fee: Tow companies may charge no more than the maximum hourly towing service fee specified in subsection 6.214.220.A for an uncompleted tow. Beginning with the first hour, no more than one quarter of the hourly fee may be charged for each fifteen minutes of towing service work performed. Reimbursement for time spent on an uncompleted tow can only be computed from the time of dispatch to the time the car is released to the vehicle operator.
C. Storage fee: The maximum storage fee that tow companies may charge for storing a private impound vehicle shall be no more than $15.50 for each 12-hour increment. …
D. After hours release fee: The maximum fee that a tow company may charge to release a privately impounded vehicle outside of normal business hours may not exceed $100. …
If it passes and does what the mayor and councilmember suggest it would, it might prevent future cases like that of a West Seattle woman who told WSB she lost her car three times – first and second times to a car thief, then, finally, to a towing/impound bill she couldn’t afford.
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West Seattle Crime Watch: One arrest; one search
First, the arrest: Karen from Hansen View Blockwatch reports an arrest that may help solve multiple recent thefts in their area. A 31-year-old man is in the King County Jail, arrested for investigation of possession of stolen property.
She says a neighbor in the 5000 block of 37th SW (map) “happened to notice someone behaving oddly” and started watching. The neighbor noticed the man had a scooter and a van, and then saw the man take an edge trimmer from a nearby yard and put it into the van. Then, the neighbor saw the man take off on the scooter, and followed some distance through alleys while calling 911. The scooter crashed; the suspect ran into a house at 36th and Morgan (map). Police made the arrest there (finding the suspect, Karen says, hiding in the attic) and are reported to have found at least 10 bicycles in the yard, along with suspected stolen mail. We’ll keep an eye on this case and follow up on whether charges are filed.
Second, the search: It’s a request for help finding a hit-run driver. Ed shared the photo at left. He says the damage is from a dark metallic-green vehicle that hit his car around 3 am today in front of his home in the 3700 block of 40th SW (map). He says he knows the color “because it left some pieces behind,” so if you’ve seen a car that color with front-end damage, please contact police.
Election 2012: Local delegation @ Democratic convention
The photo of the Washington spot on the Democratic National Convention venue’s floor in Charlotte, NC, was shared by 34th District Democrats vice chair Marcee Stone. She notes that she is one of 10 members of the 34th Dems who are at the convention – along with Zack Barker, Karl de Jong, Robert Fuentes, Ann Martin, Dr. Lisa Plymate, and Chris Porter, plus two who Stone says are on committees, State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon and Lorin Walker. (Added: Rep. Fitzgibbon says another local Democrat is there, Lorena Gonzalez.) Dr. Plymate preceded this with a visit to the Republican National Convention as part of a bus tour with Doctors For America, which is going to both conventions to advocate for health-care affordability, as Jerry Large of The Seattle Times (WSB partner) wrote last week. (DfA is also going to the DNC.) The convention is scheduled to be livestreamed here. (RNC highlights are online here.)
West Seattle traffic alert: 2-vehicle crash at 26th/Roxbury
11:03 AM: A two-vehicle crash including a flipped SUV and a minivan is blocking eastbound and all but one lane of westbound traffic at 26th and Roxbury. No serious injuries, though. Our crew at the scene says eastbound traffic is being diverted onto southbound 26th. (Thanks to Paul from WSB sponsor PB&J Textiles for the tip on this.)
11:24 AM UPDATE: Just checked back on the scene – tow trucks have arrived. Like the hit-run crash we covered in the same area back in June, this is mostly on the county side of the city/county boundary (which goes down the middle of Roxbury there) so King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and Seattle Fire was providing assistance at the scene.
City says its electrical work is over early, website mostly back up
Though some online offerings like traffic cameras will remain “powered off” till Tuesday, the city says its electrical maintenance work is over and much of the city website is back in business. Here’s the news release:
Work on the Seattle Municipal Tower electrical system scheduled for Labor Day weekend has been completed ahead of schedule. The City’s website and online applications are up and running and no longer impacted by this maintenance work. Maintenance work was conducted after City staff discovered a power transmission problem that impacted the Data Center.
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Followup: Moving day for ‘Psychic Barber,’ with a familiar head
On Tuesday, Rick Cook of “Psychic Barber” fame will start work in his new spot at the Classic Barber Shop, about a block north of his old shop at 5251 California SW. But before he closed Rick’s Barber Shop for the final time on Saturday – with a development project looming, as reported here three weeks ago – he had a full-circle client: Rick’s last cut there was for longtime friend Jeff, who was also the first person to get a haircut from him in that space, on February 14, 1994. By the time Jeff arrived Saturday, even the barber pole was packed up:
Rick is joining other old friends, Julie and Keith, at the Classic. But the Psychic Barber neon (backstory here) that filled his old shop’s window is not coming along. Rick says the signs will “go into storage for now, although I’ve had a couple of unsolicited offers from a couple of galleries that are tempting.” When we stopped in on Saturday, the PSYCHIC half was already down, below the window that’s covered with a sign about Rick’s move to 5040 California.
He’ll start work there at 9 am Tuesday.
West Seattle Sunday: Soccer; Family Frisbee; Hips & Pipes …
(April Long photographed this osprey as it was perched on her condo building)
From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
NO VIADUCT CLOSURE TONIGHT: WSDOT is deviating from the Sunday-Thursday schedule of southbound 99/Viaduct closures because of the holiday – so, as noted in our day-by-day/night-by-night list, NO closure till Tuesday night. (And nothing on the Spokane Street Viaduct except for the continuing closure of the eastbound 1st Avenue S. offramp.)
WEST SEATTLE SUNDAY SOCCER: Hey, earlybirds! Join this increasingly popular informal game at Delridge Playfield, 7:30 am. (Follow the WSSS Facebook page for updates.)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Garlic, onions, roasted peppers – savory offerings are there today as well as late-summer fruit, and much more. 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska.
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: Another regular drop-in sports event – Fairmount Playfield, 11 am. You can follow WSUFF on Facebook, too.
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: See the new “Telling Our Westside Stories” exhibit AND more West Seattle (etc.) history, noon-4 pm at the museum, 61st/Stevens.
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Haven’t been? Or haven’t been lately? Take advantage of the quieter holiday weekend and check them out during Sunday’s regular hours, 1-5 pm. Northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
HIPS AND PIPES: Bellydancing meets bagpiping, tonight at Skylark Café and Club, 8 pm (3803 Delridge Way SW).
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