The WSBeat: Racing; rescue; armed shoplifter; gunshots…
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Around 7 p.m. on the 6th, two cars raced down the 4600 block of Beach Drive SW. (One longtime resident said he’d never seen such speed on that stretch, estimating that the cars traveled at 100 mph in the 25 mph zone.) Shortly after, one of the cars crashed into a parked vehicle at 45th and Brace Point Drive. The driver of the second racer left the scene but was noticed parking several blocks away and walking back to the incident. That driver — an 18-year-old Alki resident — hurled violent sexual suggestions at the victim who came out to inspect her damaged vehicle and to several older people in the area who were trying to help. He was released from the scene but faces investigation of harassment, reckless driving (racing), and violation of a protection order to stay away from West Seattle High School. (The other speeding driver said the suspect had been following her from the school. It wasn’t clear what charges she, herself, might face.)
*On the afternoon of the 5th, a shoplifter pulled a knife on two security guards who were trying to detain him at an Admiral grocery. The shoplifter dropped the loot and walked north, through the parking lot. Neither guard was injured.
Ahead, more information on the Delridge shots-fired incident covered here on Monday, another one reported elsewhere, plus another car-prowler-interrupted case, and more:Read More
Design Review for 3078 SW Avalon Way tomorrow: Neighbors’ concerns
(One possible view of 3078 Avalon Way building, from design-review packet)
Tomorrow night (6:30 pm Thursday at the Senior Center of West Seattle), the Southwest Design Review Board gets its first look at 3078 SW Avalon Way, which has grown in proposed size since we first mentioned it here. It’s now proposed for seven stories, 114 units, and 77 parking spaces. Here’s the packet for tomorrow night’s meeting, including neighborhood characteristics and proposed shape/size (massing) schemes. Neighbors have some concerns about the plan. Here’s the top of a flyer they are circulating and shared with us:
From the flyer (which you can see here in its entirety):
Obviously, this will hugely impact our quality of lives and the character of our neighborhood.
• Parking — the developer is proposing only 77 spaces for a 114 units. Where will the overflow park?
• Huge increase in pedestrian and pet traffic — there is no park within easy walking distance; we will certainly see a lot more dogs (and dog poop) in our neighborhood.
• Alley safety and congestion — the development plans to use the alley as a parking entrance.
• Loss of privacy (the apartment residents will be looking right into the houses and backyards of almost all of us who live on 32nd Ave SW).
• Public safety concerns — does more people mean more crime?
• Vehicle traffic on Avalon — already very congested and dangerous.
Note that, as you will hear at tomorrow night’s meeting, some of those aren’t Design Review topics, they are topics for the project’s environmental review, and can be brought up by e-mail or phone to the assigned city planner. But if you are interested in the project, do come tomorrow night – there is always a public-comment period.
Downtown traffic alert for tomorrow: Microsoft @ KeyArena
KeyArena meeting traffic has backed up northbound I-5 and West Seattle outbound commuters before, so we’re sharing this SDOT alert:
Tomorrow, Thursday, September 13, a crowd of 15,000 is expected to attend the Microsoft Annual Company Meeting at the Key Arena. The meeting is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Attendees will begin arriving at the Seattle Center in 200 buses and some 4,000 private vehicles as early as 8:30 a.m. Motorists should expect heavy congestion in the morning between the I-5 Mercer off-ramp and the Seattle Center and on streets surrounding the Center. The beginning of the afternoon commute could well be impacted in the same area as attendees will be leaving the meeting at approximately 3:30 p.m. Drivers should plan ahead for possible delays.
As-it-happened: School Board work session on new BEX levy project list; Hughes no longer proposed for reopening
(TOPLINES: Current version of BEX IV levy proposal calls for new Schmitz Park @ Genesee Hill campus 2015, new Arbor Heights on current site 2019, add to and reopen Fairmount Park, NO reopening of EC Hughes, NO decision yet on K-5 STEM’s permanent location)
4:07 PM: As reported here yesterday afternoon, the newest list of projects proposed for the Seattle Public Schools BEX IV levy is out – and it includes some changes from previous West Seattle proposals. The School Board is getting more information right now at a work session at district HQ, and we’re there. We’ll update this story “live” as West Seattle-relevant information is discussed – so if you’re interested, open this story’s page (click the headline) and hit “refresh” every so often. The board and staff members’ microphones aren’t working but we’re listening as hard – and sitting as close – as we can!
READ ON FOR OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE:Read More
West Seattle road work: Beach Drive paving next week
Another section of Beach Drive is in for paving work – according to this SDOT announcement received this afternoon:
SDOT paving crews plan to grind and pave the roadway on Beach Drive SW from Atlas Place SW to SW Juneau Street on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, if weather permits. All sidewalks and crossings will remain open. A single travel lane will be shared by both directions of traffic, with traffic flaggers assisting drivers through the area.
Earlier this year SDOT crews repaved an area of Beach Drive to the south of the current area. The section of Beach Drive between the two repaved areas will be repaved once work is completed to stabilize the slope.
The current work on Beach Drive SW is part of the annual paving program funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters in 2006.
West Seattle restaurants: Marination ma kai’s beer, food notes
As Marination ma kai gets closer to opening at Seacrest, we have a few new details today, as well as renderings provided by Marination’s co-owners, with whom we’ve been speaking since reporting first word back in December that they would be the new restaurant operators at the boathouse and pier. Decor not included, but you can get an idea of the layout:
They’ve sent regional media a formal announcement of its impending opening – no exact date yet, though co-owner Kamala Saxton told WSB recently that they were hoping for late September – so you might see some new scattered mentions today. The announcement includes a confirmation that their hours will be 6 am-10 pm seven days a week, and this updated summary of the menu:
In addition to made-from-scratch Hawaiian-Korean lunch and dinner favorites like kalbi beef, spicy pork, kalua pork, and sexy tofu, Marination ma kai will serve island breakfast staples including loco moco, manapua and Portuguese sausage musubi. The expanded menu will feature items only available at ma kai such as fish n’ chips, pork katsu sandwich, and Hawaiian shave ice for dessert.
Even bigger news – the beer:
Since nothing washes down spicy and sweet Hawaiian-Korean delicacies quite like an ice-cold cocktail or beer, Marination ma kai will offer a full bar and a selection of beers served up by Washington State’s first female Cicerone, Robyn Schumacher. Among the taps will be a “Marination”-branded brew, developed in collaboration with Big Al Brewing. It will be a malt-forward brown ale brewed to complement ma kai’s unique cuisine.
Meet Robyn the Cicerone on Marination’s Tumblr. They’re reiterating that they’ll also offer the space for private events and catering – here’s the e-mail address to use for that: eat@marinationmobile.com. And even though they’ll have a bricks-and-mortar location here, Marination expects to keep bringing its truck to 35th and Graham in High Point on Saturdays, as they’ve been doing for three years.
West Seattle coyotes: Dog owner reports attack; other sightings
That photo is from Aly, taken in July in the 24th SW/Cloverdale vicinity, where she reported this week she is still seeing them. Then this morning, Becky reported that coyotes were “hanging around” Hamilton Viewpoint Park early today. Those two were simple sightings – but this next note also came in from Highland Park a short time ago, causing us to speed up the coyote roundup we were working on, since this is reported in an area popular with dog owners:
I live on 3rd Ave SW behind Westcrest Park and off-leash park and I had my 4 dogs attacked last night by the coyotes that are in the area. There have been 2 of them spotted on my street in recent weeks. I have one of my dogs in critical condition now and 3 I am nursing at home. Please, everyone, watch out for them; they are even out during the late afternoon in daylight. We need to find a way to get the city or state to set up a trap to move them into the mountains.
We have a followup question out. Ahead, three other recent coyote reports:Read More
Update: Crash on 4th Avenue South sends 1 to hospital
8:23 AM: If you drive, bicycle, or use transit on 4th Avenue South south of the West Seattle Bridge (Spokane Street Viaduct), plan an alternate route – a crash at 4th/Industrial (near Costco) is reported to be blocking both directions of 4th in the area, including the bridge over the railroad tracks. Buses are being diverted. The image above is from the SDOT camera at 4th and Michigan, south of the crash scene and north of the 1st Avenue South Bridge.
9:36 AM UPDATE: Seattle Fire says their crews spent 15 minutes cutting the driver out of the wreckage. He is 55 years old and in critical condition with head trauma, according to SFD.
11:11 AM UPDATE: SDOT has tweeted that the scene is clear.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Words of warning & thanks
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports to share this morning – starting with an interrupted car prowl. Karleen wanted to warn you and to also publicly thank someone who tried to help:
(Last night) around dusk I took my dogs for a walk near Salty’s/Alki, only to return to some strange guy sitting in the passenger side of my car, rifling through my belongings. My car was next to GT Towing (right near the West Seattle Bridge). I shouted at him ‘what are you doing in my car??’ then yelled for John the tow truck business owner – who I’ve come to know since I park near his business several times a week when I walk my dogs. Not a lot I could do with 3 little dogs with me, and the guy got out of my car and ran down toward Alki. John heard me and chased him, caught up to him but he pulled a knife so John let him go. Meanwhile I called 911, and they came and I filled out a police report. My car has a busted window and glass everywhere, but not much taken and no one hurt. The guy got away though, and it was scary that he had a knife. I am really grateful to John for helping me!
Two other reports, both involving theft, ahead: (ALSO, ADDED 9:58 AM – A report from another West Seattleite whose car has been hit by prowlers/vandals twice in the past five days.)Read More
West Seattle Wednesday: From Peppers to pies to politics…
(Photo by Machel Spence)
A sampling from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar for today/tonight:
TONIGHT’S TRAFFIC ALERTS: From the day-by-day list, two closures overnight tonight – southbound 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct 9 pm-5 am, and eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct 10 pm-5 am – so if you get on the eastbound high bridge during the closure, you’ll have to exit to northbound 99.
BABY PEPPERS SESSION STARTS: Have a baby who’s 5-12 months old? A new session of Baby Peppers starts this morning, 10:30 am, at Bright Horizons (4530 38th SW). Details on the calendar listing page.
HERITAGE PUMPKIN PIE PROJECT: Another chance today, 2-8 pm at the West Seattle Eagles‘ headquarters in The Junction, to pre-order a 5″ or 10″ pumpkin pie from Diane Niemi for Thanksgiving pie season, as a fundraiser to help Alzheimer’s/dementia research – explained here.
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARM STAND: Fresh-vegetable sales continue weekly at the stand alongside the organic mini-farm at 32nd and Juneau, 4-7 pm. More info here.
MORE ENDORSEMENTS? The 34th District Democrats have already made endorsements in many major races for the November ballot – but there are others to consider when they meet tonight at 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). The agenda’s on their website.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SOCCER: The West Seattle Sunday Soccer group’s weekly Wednesday night pickup game happens at 7 pm at Delridge Playfield – check the WSSS Facebook page for late-breaking updates.
More on the calendar!
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