(WSB photo by Tracy Record, looking west on Barton from 15th, toward 16th)
11:27 PM: Seattle Police and Fire have rushed to 15th/Barton (map) in South Delridge to check out an assault-with-weapons report. (Thanks to the person who tipped us via text.) Will update as we find out more.

11:31 PM UPDATE: According to radio traffic, this is a shooting. The victim is described as a 35-to-40-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, found unconscious, and undergoing CPR. The victim is being rushed to Harborview Medical Center. No information so far on the circumstances or any suspect(s).

11:40 PM UPDATE: Also from radio communications, there is a second victim – a female, shot in the hand.

12:14 AM UPDATE: Police say via Twitter they’re still searching for suspect(s); no word of even a description. We’re just back from a quick visit to the vicinity – very foggy, didn’t get too close, but close enough to report that Barton is taped off at 15th (top photo), while police and a loud crowd are focused on 16th and Barton. 16th is blocked off there too, so if you need to travel north-south in that area, use Delridge or 15th.

(This photo and others below by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:26 AM UPDATE: Christopher Boffoli is now at the scene for WSB and reports that SPD rifle officers are keeping a high profile at the scene.

1:12 AM UPDATE: Christopher reports police are “expanding the crime scene to the auto and brake service center across the street from the house where the shooting apparently occurred … it looks like they found bullet damage in the building and a vehicle parked out front.”

5:13 AM UPDATE: Still no information on the victims’ conditions; police have had a busy night all over the city, but we expect an update on this at some point this morning.

9:38 AM UPDATE: This has finally appeared on SPD Blotter, though the item includes few details not already reported here:

Detectives are looking for a suspect(s) who shot two people late last night in West Seattle.

On 12/31/13, just shortly after 11:00 p.m., the victims were at a social event at victim 2’s residence in the 9200 block of 16 Av SW when a disturbance broke out and shots were fired.
Victim # 1, a man in his 40′s was shot twice in the torso and sustained life threatening injuries. V#2, a 33-yr-old female was shot in one of her hands. Both victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center and admitted.

Victim #1 was listed in critical condition.

Homicide, Gang Unit detectives and CSI responded and processed the scene. No suspect information available. The investigation continues.

12:04 PM UPDATE: According to the man’s family, he did not survive. That means this is West Seattle’s second homicide of 2013; the first was just two and a half weeks earlier, the killing of 46-year-old Nga Nguyen in her High Point residence – no arrest in that case yet either.

WEDNESDAY, 9:11 PM: Police also have now confirmed that the male victim died.

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Goodbye, 2013! Top 11 most-commented WSB stories of the year

December 31, 2013 11:19 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle history | West Seattle news

We originally drafted this story on Saturday, planning to finish and publish it on Monday. Then came The Big Power Outage, which now holds the title for “most-commented WSB story ever,” passing the previous titleholder, coverage of the November 22, 2010, snow/ice-pocalypse. As was the case with both those reports, comments on WSB stories are more often about community information-sharing than about opinions or observations, whether it’s a road report in a morning-traffic thread, or the simple “No power here/power’s back on here” updates from Monday. That said, our one-and-only look back at 2013 proceeds, with less than an hour left until 2014. It’s a Top 11 since we already had dug up the Top 10 before something new topped them all:

11: ‘Private’ fireworks display off Beach Drive, July 20, 2013 – 137 comments

10: Townhouses planned for ex-Charlestown Café site, June 4, 2013 – 143 comments
*Follow-up note: As reported here earlier this month, this project finally debuts at Design Review on January 23rd.

9: Impending opening of Bada Bistro, March 12, 2013 – 144 comments
*The announcement declared “We don’t serve merlot.” The discussion caught fire from there. The restaurant closed after less than five months.

7/8 (tie): Alan Polevia spotted in Shorewood, hours-long helicopter search ensues, March 5, 2013 – 145 comments
*After serving about four months of a six-month sentence, Polevia got out of jail October 21st. He spent a day back behind bars in early November for a DUI warrant.

7/8 (tie): Bicyclist killed on East Marginal, May 1, 2013 – 145 comments

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The WSBeat: Close call in the fire pit; drive-by thieves; more

December 31, 2013 10:33 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WSBeat

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

This edition of The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases 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?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …

*Just after midnight on the 24th, officers were called to a beach fire at Alki. While they were happy to see that it was in one of the burn pits, they were less happy to see a propane tank in the middle of the blaze. A fire crew came to take care of the situation and asked officers to make a suspicious circumstances report.

Four more summaries ahead, including a drive-by purse-snatching:Read More

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West Seattle coyotes: Federal agent’s alert for dog owners

December 31, 2013 8:18 pm

| 16 COMMENTS

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(October 2012 reader photo, by Katina, taken in an Admiral neighborhood)
An unexpected phone call this New Year’s Eve: Aaron the federal wildlife agent called to ask us to share another reminder about keeping your dog(s) safe from coyotes. “We are seeing an increase in coyote calls concerning predation on small dogs at night in West Seattle,” he said. “It’s easily prevented by going out with the small dogs at night as they are let out to relieve themselves. It sounds like simple advice, because it is, and can really help keep your small dogs safe. Removing this attraction can help keep coyotes focused on more natural food sources.”

This is the same advice Aaron offered in another phone call last July, which followed his appearance before the Highland Park Action Committee two months earlier. As we wrote then, he says that even dogs staying in their own yards might be “coaxed” by coyotes to come to the edge of the yard, where the larger canines can grab them. As for cats? As with dogs, if they’re outside and unaccompanied, they’re at risk.

He told us tonight he wants to get this advice out again “to (help) keep coyotes wild in our part of the city.” And they’re out there – if you haven’t seen our coverage before, five years of sightings are archived here). Sightings we’ve heard about this month include:

*Early morning, near Fauntleroy Church/YMCA

*Late morning, 9700 block 30th SW, “jumped our back fence and headed east towards 28th and Safeway”

*Early evening, California Lane (North Admiral)

*Early afternoon, crossing Fauntleroy Way at SW Rose Street: “Moving up from the park into the neighborhood”

What if you come face to face with one? Best advice: Scare it away. That too will help keep them wild, which is what’s best for them, us, and our pets, experts stress, over and over again. More advice here.

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Memorable 2013 for West Seattleite chosen ‘Rookie Umpire of the Year’

December 31, 2013 5:04 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

Tomorrow morning, among those who have told us they plan to take the (polar) plunge into Puget Sound, you’ll find Kayleen Dunson – the West Seattleite who is Umpire in Chief for the Seattle Metro Area Softball Umpires Association. She tells WSB her first year in that role has been great “We trained more umpires than ever before … sent 20 umpires to work National and/or State tournaments (and one umpire who got to work the World Cup of Softball), and made everything about umpiring more FUN!” They got regional/national media attention, too. But she’s particularly proud of Shani Neamen, a recruit who won the “Rookie Umpire of the Year” award.

Kayleen shares the story:

When Shani Neamen read about the need for Softball Umpires on the West Seattle Blog in January, she decided to give it a try. She joined the Seattle Metro Softball Umpires Association, went through the top-notch training program, and became a certified softball umpire. She had a blast, and did a great job – and in October she was chosen as the Seattle-Tacoma region’s “Rookie Umpire of the Year.”

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West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Plea bargain for Sean Jeardoe

December 31, 2013 2:48 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Another semi-high-profile West Seattle case is closing with a plea bargain: This time, it’s 20-year-old Sean Jeardoe, first mentioned here in early July after being arrested in a stolen truck spotted in the West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) parking lot by a reader who remembered seeing a WSB Crime Watch story about the truck. This reader-contributed photo from that day is the only one we have of him:

Charges weren’t filed against Jeardoe until September, as reported here, and by then he also was under suspicion in other crimes, including burglaries on Vashon Island. In all, documents say he confessed to 22 burglaries all over King County, from Shoreline to Issaquah to Vashon to Tukwila. Stolen property from many of them was found in a Sunrise Heights trailer and a White Center apartment, both places where he had been staying.

Yesterday afternoon, Jeardoe pleaded guilty to 14 felonies – eight burglary charges, three auto-theft-related charges, and three counts of gun theft, with crime-scene addresses listed in court documents including West Seattle, North Seattle, Shoreline, Burien, and Vashon. Prosecutors are recommending a variety of concurrent sentences that would add up to eight and a half years (102 months) in prison. Jeardoe has served jail time before – including the 3 1/2 months he’s been in since his September arrest – but not prison time. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle on February 7th.

P.S. The woman arrested with him in July and September and described repeatedly in court documents as “his pregnant girlfriend,” 34-year-old Jessica Detrick, has nothing showing on her record since she spent five days in jail in September. As we reported then, she was released after pleading guilty in a 2012 burglary case, which shows as the most recent case filed against her in King County – no charges appear from either of the arrests this year.

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Yes, there IS an Alki Beach Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day!

December 31, 2013 1:55 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Holidays | Seen at sea | West Seattle news

(New Year’s Day 2013 photo by Nick Adams)
Four people have asked about it in the past half-hour, so we’re thinking more than a few missed our first word on December 22nd that the Alki Beach Polar Bear Swim is definitely ON again tomorrow. So – here’s the reminder! 10 am New Year’s Day, gather on the beach across from Duke’s (map); better to be early than late, says organizer Mark Ufkes. As he observes, “This is a great way to wash away the complexities of 2013 and welcome the unlimited possibilities of 2014.”

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West Seattle traffic alert: Another water problem

December 31, 2013 12:42 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news

12:42 PM: Third one in five days in West Seattle, by our count – thanks to Nancy for the photo from 112th/Marine View Drive (map), where a Seattle Public Utilities crew has just arrived to fix a reported pipe problem. This follows Delridge and Gatewood trouble (reported here Monday). We are seeking more information from SPU, and will update with whatever we hear back.

ADDED 2:55 PM: We asked SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin about both this situation and the 41st/Frontenac one, which was still under investigation when we talked with her yesterday:

Crews just finished (about 1 pm) the leak repair on 41st and Frontenac. The leak was on a service line, not the water main.

The water main break on 112th and Marine View Drive is on a 4″ pipe. Crews are onsite making the repair now.

It’s not unusual for there to be leaks and small breaks on a daily basis throughout the City. Seattle does have aging infrastructure and some of the pipes are nearly 100 years old. Our crews stay busy with maintenance, repair and upgrades to the system.

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West Seattle New Year’s Eve 2013: Parade, parties, lights…

December 31, 2013 11:56 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(January 1, 2013, Space Needle fireworks, photographed by David Hutchinson)
Happy final day of 2013! Today’s highlights list focuses on some of your options for tonight, besides watching the fabled Space Needle fireworks, whether in person or on screen. You can get started before dark:

NEW YEAR’S EVE WALK: Any time between 4 and 7 pm, you can start a 5- or 10-kilometer West Seattle walk mapped out by the Emerald City Wanderers, starting at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Details in our preview, which notes the New Year’s Day walking plan, too. (California/Hanford)

Once it’s dark, you can start your night with one last look at some of West Seattle’s brightest Christmas-lights shows:

WEST SEATTLE LIGHTS FINALE: Tonight is closing night for the music-and-movement West Seattle Lights/Helmstetler Family Spectacular show.

Creator Jim Winder says you can help them hit a charity milestone:

Last Show Of The 2013 Season Is New Year’s Eve – Also your last chance to be involved in a momentous last four years of giving by the West Seattle Community!!!

West Seattleites (and those visiting from out of town) have been in a giving spirit since Christmas Eve as YOU have donated over $900 and 300 lbs of foodstuffs for our two charities…the West Seattle Food Bank and The Northwest Parkinson Foundation. Soooo…we are that much closer to collecting $10,000 for our two charities since 2010!!
Only $89 to go!! Thank you, West Seattle!!!!

Jim says this year’s giving has already passed last year’s total – $2,777 so far. Tonight’s schedule is 4 pm-midnight; if you’re not going tonight but you want to donate (everything goes to the nonprofits – nothing for show operations), you can do that online. What? Haven’t been? Find WS Lights at 39th and Charlestown.

WEST SEATTLE YULETIDE: This new music-and-movement display now has a name, and a website! Ken Iverson says they’ve dubbed the show at 4120 38th SW “West Seattle Yuletide”:

You’ll find WSY online at westseattleyuletide.blogspot.com, and Ken says the show IS on tonight.

MENASHE FAMILY LIGHTS: The biggest and brightest display in West Seattle is still on too! (5605 Beach Drive SW)

Then:

HIGHLAND PARK’S NOT-SO-SILENT NIGHT PARADE, FIRE PERFORMANCE, CORNER BAR: Highland Park Improvement Club is a one-stop shop for a multifaceted New Year’s Eve. The night starts with the parade, all ages, everyone welcome, leaving from the HPIC parking lot around 6:30 pm. Bring lights and noisemakers to parade through nearby neighborhoods:

Then it’s back to the lot for the Sage Comet Fire Performance, and then inside for HPIC’s special New Year’s Eve edition of the Corner Bar. Details on all of the above are here, as well as on the HPIC website. (12th/Holden)

Last but not least – bar parties! No matter where you prefer to drink, we bet they have a party. Here are the venues we have heard from:

SKYLARK: New Year’s Eve Prom Party with Baby Ketten Karaoke, starting at 8 pm – Facebook invite here. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

BAMBOO BENEFIT: Bamboo Grill on Alki is having a dance party starting at 8:30 pm and collecting donations for the American Cancer Society. Here’s the Facebook invite. (2806 Alki SW)

FEEDBACK LOUNGE: Fifth annual New Year’s Eve Party at The Feedback (WSB sponsor) with the Disco Cowboys, starting at 9 pm. Details in our calendar listing. (6451 California SW)

NEW YEAR’S EVE AT OUTWEST BAR: The lineup from OutWest: “A ‘White Party’! We’ll have a Video DJ, White Winter Jello Shots, a hosted Champagne Toast at midnight and a special guest vocalist to sing Auld Lang Syne.” (5401 California SW)

THE BENBOW ROOM: Live music starts at 9:30 pm – details in our calendar listing. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

And if you’d rather just take a walk on the beach:

LOW-LOW TIDE: -2.9 feet just before 10 pm, according to our favorite tide chart.

As for the Space Needle fireworks – just one word of advice: If you’re heading down to the north/northeast-facing shore to watch them from here – or one of the official viewpoints – do NOT wait until the last minute; in our experience, things start getting crazy by 10 pm.

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WestSide Baby’s farewell to 2013, with a heartfelt ‘thank you’

December 31, 2013 9:46 am

| Comments Off on WestSide Baby’s farewell to 2013, with a heartfelt ‘thank you’

| How to help | West Seattle news

(Click image for full-size view)
Just hours to go until the New Year, and that means time for reflection on the old one – individually and organizationally. WestSide Baby‘s executive director Nancy Woodland asked if we would share this with you:

As 2013 comes to a close, I’d like to thank the West Seattle community for its amazing support this year. We have increased our service by thousands of children, started to reach new neighborhoods and stretched ourselves to do more. Most of this is because of this community. While we continue to reach to other parts of Seattle for support, we want to pause and acknowledge what has happened locally. Individuals, families and children have collected 110,000 MORE diapers for us this year than in 2010. That’s incredible and, in large part, because of West Seattle!! Donations of new car seats have increased and we’ve been able to distribute 5,000 clothing bags mostly from the used items that come from the children prancing around our local parks and elementary schools.

Since opening our new rented facility in White Center in 2010, we have almost doubled the number of volunteer hours donated, from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000! This growth translates directly to increased impact all around King County and most of these volunteers come from within ten miles. In the last week, we’ve had to close down to item donations because of the requirement to do inventory (volunteers did most of that work too!) but we look forward to re-opening to item donations on January 2nd. Thanks to all for your patience in holding on to the things you’d like to clear out of your homes after the holidays.

On Sunday our constituents received an e-mail outlining the continued need for car seats, diapers, basics, and financial support. We focused on a poignant photo by (WSB contributor) Christopher Boffoli, that captured a rollover accident where an infant’s stroller was thrown from the car but the child had only minor injuries. I can only assume a car seat played a role in that.

The interconnectedness of everything we do it what makes WestSide Baby special. From local families, to local businesses to large corporations and foundations the combined support allow us to do what we do best, focus on the critical items to keep children safe, warm and dry. As Mary from Mom’s Plus agency shared with us, “We work with homeless families and it means so, so, so much to them to receive assistance with diapers. It means that they have extra money for food and other necessary expenses and it also means that they can change their babies diapers more often.”

If you want to know how you can be a part of what we do, please consider donating, signing up online to volunteer or to attend our big benefit Tea on February 9, telling someone else about us – even if they don’t live in West Seattle and please continue doing all the things you do – we need you as we grow. Thank you, West Seattle!

P.S. Today’s the last day to get an earlybird $35 ticket for the WS Baby Tea – go here.

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