day : 05/08/2013 9 results

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 street holdups; break-in; more

We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with two incidents we’re still working to find out more about – two gunpoint street robberies in the past four nights. We requested the details from Seattle Police today but did not receive them; reports with narratives are unfortunately not usually available online for up to a week, if at all. Anyway, what little we do know: The most recent one happened at 34th and Myrtle early Saturday, just after midnight, and neighbors saw police searching the area; the one before that was late Thursday night in the 5200 block of 16th SW, and we know a few details because a safety bulletin was subsequently circulated over the weekend by South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – someone with ties to the school forwarded it to us. It noted that the robbery happened off-campus: “A student was reportedly robbed at gunpoint by four individuals at approximately 11:30 pm on Thursday, August 1. The student was uninjured but shaken up; the robbers reportedly stole the student’s iPhone and approximately $150 in cash.” Again, we are still trying to get the detailed reports on these two street holdups and will publish more information in Crime Watch when we get it.

Ahead, a burglary today, and a suspicious person spotted Sunday night:

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Here come the pinks! And a fishing-from-kayaks benefit, too

August 5, 2013 8:02 pm
|    Comments Off on Here come the pinks! And a fishing-from-kayaks benefit, too
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

As noted here last week, the every-other-year run of pink salmon is under way. The classic photo of pink-salmon fishing seems to involve people in waders on the beach at Lincoln Park – but an upcoming fishing tournament just will bring an entirely different view: Fishing from kayaks. Greg Whittaker at Alki Kayak Tours says the Northwest Kayak Anglers are presenting the “Humpy Kayak Classic” on August 17th, with its check-in station at Jack Block Park. It’s a benefit for Heroes On The Water Northwest; “Humpy” is a nickname for pink salmon, but if no one catches any that day, organizers will allow “a legally caught coho.” More details about, and rules for, the tournament can be found here – including how to register and how to pay. They’re asking for sign-ups by August 12th.

West Seattle restaurants: Bada Bistro closes on Alki

Another change in the Alki business district: As the sign on the door says, Bada Bistro has closed after less than five months at 61st and Alki. The restaurant/bar was a rebranding of what Sharon and John Bang, owners of Alki Café across the street, originally opened in spring 2011 as Beachside Café, in the space that had been Alki Bakery until its abrupt closure in November 2010. As for the new owners mentioned in the note as expected to open their doors next month – the outgoing owners, who say the decision to close Bada Bistro was “hard,” aren’t ready to comment just yet. They do say they will continue to own and operate Alki Café.

Sentenced to ‘life,’ kidnapper/rapist in West Seattle/Kitsap County case is now out of prison

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Thanks to a WSB’er for the tip on this: Convicted kidnapper/rapist Donald Randolph Hooper is out of prison, after a ruling by the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board.

Longtime West Seattleites might recognize the name. In December 1982, at which time he happened to be working for Washington State Ferries on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route, Hooper kidnapped a 14-year-old girl at gunpoint from a bus stop in West Seattle. She survived an ordeal that also included molestation and rape, at multiple locations in King and Kitsap Counties, before Hooper dumped her in the water of Hood Canal after binding her hands and partially binding her feet. She managed to struggle to shore after he left, and found someone who called police.

Hooper also was eventually convicted of a separate incident that had happened weeks earlier, involving raping a hitchhiker at gunpoint, though that conviction was reversed on appeal because of a technicality; ISRB documents say he admitted he committed the crime.

His sentence for the West Seattle kidnapping and Kitsap County rape was life in prison. But because Hooper’s conviction and sentencing predated our state’s mid-’80s fixed-sentence laws, Hooper was eligible for the equivalent of parole, which is granted by the aforementioned ISRB.

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Night Out tomorrow: No block party in your neighborhood? Check out the White Center Food Walk (etc.) party instead

If your neighborhood is NOT celebrating Night Out tomorrow (August 6th), consider spending the evening at White Center’s Business District Night Out from 6 to 9 pm. Highlights include a free Zumba class with Center Studio (WSB sponsor) outside at 6 pm, and a $2 food walk with more than 15 local restaurants (see map above). There will also be live music, a beer garden at Big Al Brewing, a raffle at Seattle Silkscreening Company, and free bike safety and emergency preparedness classes with the White Center Community Development Association. You can find more info (including photos of food walk offerings) at the White Center Chamber of Commerce‘s Facebook page.

P.S. If you’re in the Seattle city limits, not too late to sign up your block party for a street closure tomorrow night (non-arterial) – all the info’s here!

Pump problems close Colman Pool for the day

Just announced by Seattle Parks – no swimming today at West Seattle’s only city-run outdoor pool:

A pump failure at Colman Pool has resulted in closure today. A repair company is on site and working on correcting the problem.

The pump that takes water from the filters and returns it to the pool has stopped working. The repair requires replacement of key parts and detailed realignment of the unit. This is expected to take the whole day and the pool should reopen for programs on Tuesday.

The pool, which marked its 70th anniversary two years ago, had a bout of pump trouble earlier this summer, too.

Man revived by SFD, in hospital after bike fall at Lincoln Park

In case you wondered about the Seattle Fire Department response at Lincoln Park early this morning: A 75-year-old man is hospitalized in critical condition this morning after falling off his bicycle. Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore says witnesses saw the man fall on the path near Colman Pool around quarter past 6 and called 911, then: “When firefighters arrived, the man was unconscious, not breathing, and did not have a pulse. We immediately used a defibrillator and performed 1 hour of CPR on the man. We were able to get his heart beating again and have him breathing on his own.” Moore says the call was handled by Engines 32 and 37 as well as Medic 10, which took the man to a hospital downtown. No word on whether the fall was the result of a sudden health problem or something else.

West Seattle Monday: Election Day Eve; K-5 STEM meeting; Walking Papers live @ Easy Street…

Another view of the Duwamish River

(Spot of color on the Duwamish River shore, by Flickr member “old desolate,” shared via WSB Flickr group)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

JUNCTION TRUE VALUE’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY: The family-owned-and-operated store in The Junction is celebrating 60 years in business with festivities all week, leading up to a celebration on Saturday. See JTV’s WSB ad here and special discount coupon here. (4747 44th SW)

BALLOT DROP-OFF VAN: It’s Election Day Eve, and the King County Elections ballot-dropoff van is back today, 10 am-5 pm at West Seattle Stadium (10 am-8 pm tomorrow, too). There also are fixed, around-the-clock drop-off boxes – see the list here; the nearest ones are downtown and in Burien. You also can mail your ballot as long as it’s postmarked by tomorrow; don’t forget the stamp (NOT needed if you drop it off at a county van or box).

MEETING AT K-5 STEM: As Seattle Public Schools prepares to finalize decisions in the fall about boundaries as well as the future of campuses including reopening-next-year Fairmount Park Elementary and vacating-in-2016 Schmitz Park Elementary, West Seattle’s newest public school finds its own future in the eye of the storm, and has announced proposals to solve much of the puzzle, as reported and discussed here last week. Tonight, a special PTA/community meeting is planned to discuss those proposals and strategize advocacy for them. 6:30 pm at the Boren gym. (5950 Delridge Way SW)

LIVE AT EASY STREET RECORDS: In-store performance by Walking Papers (featuring Duff McKagan) – free, all ages! 7 pm. (California/Alaska)

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday updates and notes

(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Here’s what’s ahead for this week:

TUESDAY & THURSDAY: Road work 7 am-7 pm each of those two days on the westbound side of SW Roxbury. On Tuesday, one westbound lane will be closed between 15th and 16th SW; on Thursday, one westbound lane will be closed between 23rd and 24th SW.

OVERNIGHT TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY: 10 pm-5 am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, the southbound Battery St. Tunnel will be closed on Highway 99. There will also be a northbound closure but it won’t start until about midnight, or “two hours after the Mariners’ game ends.”