day : 19/03/2016 11 results

Just got another car-window vandalism report – from Stacie on Puget Ridge:

Our car window and one of our neighbors’ car window were busted out this evening. 3-19 between 7:30 and 9:20.

We are on 16th Ave SW not too far from the college. We have filed a police report but also thought it would be good to let our community know.

This follows multiple reports from Admiral and points just south, published in Crime Watch this morning, plus secondhand mentions from Sunrise Heights and North Delridge. Call 911 fast if you see/hear something happen, to increase the chances whomever’s doing this will be caught before somebody gets hurt.

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Leaping into leap-year spring, at Alice’s Equinox Sunset Watch

March 19, 2016 10:07 pm

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| Skies Over West Seattle | West Seattle news

That’s Luca, leaping onto the Solstice Park marker that would have lined up with the setting sun tonight, if it had been visible for the sunset closest to the spring equinox (which arrived less than an hour ago, at 9:30 pm – earliest one in more than a century, because of leap year). He and the rest of the nearly 20 people who gathered for NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen‘s 28th equinox/solstice sunset watch didn’t mind the clouds – which were sparse enough in the east to show the moon:

Alice, as usual, explained many things cosmic, including the path the sun takes across the sky each season, and how that correlates to the three paths that lead to the central viewing circle at Solstice Park.

Even without a sunset alignment to check, attendees admired the view.

Some stayed afterward to talk stargazing with Alice, who offered to help with any skywatching apps that people had installed on their phones. You can follow her on Twitter, and/or check her website, for news of the next sunset watch around the summer solstice, and other updates.

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SUNDAY: Morgan Street Drive-In Market starts off SouthWest Stories

March 19, 2016 9:20 pm

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| West Seattle history | West Seattle news

Chances are you only know the Morgan Street Drive-In Market from that mural on the west side of the building on the southwest corner of Morgan and California – if at all. Tomorrow (Sunday, March 20th) is your chance to get to know it much better. As first previewed here four weeks ago, urban historian Rob Ketcherside is the first presenter in the new Southwest Seattle Historical Society series SouthWest Stories, and he’ll be talking about the market, seen in this 1937 assessor’s photo:

It’s on the site where West Seattle Thriftway [WSB sponsor] is now, and was at the time part of a trend toward “drive-in markets.” Whether you drive, walk, bicycle, bus, or find some other way to get there, be at the High Point Library at 2 pm (sooner, since it’s first-come, first-served for seating) tomorrow. (The Seattle Public Library, by the way, is co-sponsoring the series; see its future monthly guest speakers and topics on the SWSHS website.)

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CONGRATULATIONS! Pathfinder K-8 team wins championship

March 19, 2016 8:26 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

The photo and report are from a Pathfinder K-8 “Proud Parent“:

Pathfinder K-8 was in its own March Madness today. The boys’ middle-school basketball team entered the day as the third seed and knocked off second-seeded Orca K-8 in the semi-finals. With a bit of rest and a whole lotta heart, the boys went into game two of their double header and took down the one seed, Broadview, to win the Seattle Public Schools Sound Division championship (all Seattle K-8 schools). Big congratulations to the kids and coaches Mike Giomi and Rob Wright for bringing the trophy back to WS and making Pathfinder school history!

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Hometown screening next weekend for award-winning ‘Drawing the Tiger’

March 19, 2016 4:51 pm

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| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Next Saturday brings your chance to see the award-winning, West Seattleite-produced documentary “Drawing the Tiger” and meet its filmmakers Amy Benson and Scott Squire right here in their (and your) backyard.

We most recently mentioned their project in spring 2015, when Benson spoke at the WAGIN conference at Chief Sealth International High School, and a few weeks after that, as they prepared for their film’s premiere. And now, she writes:

After 7 years in the making, we completed the film last spring. It has been traveling the world since. It was the Best Feature Award from Northwest Film Forum’s Fest, Local Sightings as well as the UNICEF award at Film South Asia in Nepal.

Now are are bringing it super local for a FREE screening right where we live at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on March 26th @ 4 pm in the theater. My husband and I as well as one of our translators, Neeta Shrestha, will do a short Q&A following the screening.

Here’s the one-paragraph description of their film:

Shot over seven years, Drawing the Tiger takes a sweeping view of one Nepalese family’s struggle to survive off of subsistence farming. Eat, pay their debts, stay alive—that’s their day-to-day reality. But when their bright daughter receives a scholarship to study in Kathmandu, the family’s prospects suddenly improve by leaps and bounds overnight. She promises to return and free her family from their hand-to-mouth existence. But when she doesn’t come home, the family is forced to face their fate. Is their future set in stone or sand; is it solid or ever-shifting? What is the price of this golden opportunity?

No ticket or RSVP required – just show up for the 4 pm screening next Saturday (March 26th) at Youngstown, 4408 Delridge Way SW.

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Awaiting the West Seattle ‘safe lot’: Newest SPD info on local RV camping

March 19, 2016 1:44 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Exactly two months ago today, Mayor Murray announced two “safe lots” would be set up for RV/vehicle campers within one month, one in Ballard, and one at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way SW. As we’ve been reporting, the local one is more or less on hold. And we’ve continued to learn more about the situation, including the latest community-council briefing by Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith. Asked about the West Seattle RV-camper situation at Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting, he explained a site we’ve been asked about lately, on the west side of Myers Way a few blocks south of Olson:

(WSB photo, taken Friday)

RVs that are awaiting the “safe lot,” said Lt. Smith, are “staged” at the Myers Way spot. (At another recent meeting, he had said police had found nine RVs eligible for the future “safe lot,” which is more than were at Myers yesterday/today.) He explained that the campers there “turned out to be very cooperative” and have been cleaning up – they’ve used city-supplied garbage bags for that. Some RVs in the area have been towed, though – making the distinction between “cooperative” and towable, Lt. Smith said, “”If it’s a criminal enterprise, they’re not homeless, and that’s our interpretation unless we’re told otherwise.” They’re not towing those who seem to be truly homeless, but they are offering services. “If they’re honestly trying to make an effort, we’re going to provide every service we can. … I hate to paint all of them with the same brush – you meet a broad spectrum of people living in the RVs, as you do when you’re walking down the street.”

But SPD is still wondering when the “safe lot” will be cleared to open – they’re waiting on “downtown” to give the word. The Human Services Department told WSB three weeks ago that it’s waiting until it can benefit from “lessons learned” at the Ballard lot, which did open a month after the mayor’s declaration. But that lot is maxed out, Lt. Smith noted, with 16 RVs at last check determined to be the most it could hold. That’s about how many we counted, taking a quick look while passing through Ballard last weekend:

(WSB photo, March 12th)

That’s less than half what the city had originally said they’d hoped the Ballard lot would hold.

Meantime, some at the ACC meeting thought RV residents might need some help with how and where to store their belongings, and offered ideas – Lt. Smith suggested they talk to both the mayor and City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. Meantime, the SW Precinct’s Community Police Team remains the primary point of contact for the local RV/encampment issues.

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UPDATE: Emergency response at Don Armeni Boat Ramp ends without injury; person ‘in crisis’ taken to hospital

March 19, 2016 11:25 am

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| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Roadblock at Harbor/California, photo courtesy Christine)

11:25 AM: We’re getting word of a police/fire response at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, and one tipster says it’s affecting traffic on Harbor Avenue SW. It reportedly involves a person in crisis in the area. Avoid the area for now. We’ll update when we find out more.

11:38 AM: Police tell us the first call on this came in about an hour ago. They have crisis-trained officers on scene and “are doing everything they can to resolve it peacefully.” Harbor is blocked near Seacrest on the east side.

11:41 AM: Per scanner, the situation is now under control and police are reopening Harbor and the boat ramp shortly. The person had been reported to be threatening suicide and police had been told the person was believed to have been armed. (Reminder, as we always note when we mention situations involving self-harm or threats of it, the Crisis Clinic‘s 24-hour hotline is 206-461-3222.)

11:50 AM: Now that this is being resolved, we’re adding photos sent to us (thank you) showing the response:

(Photo courtesy Carolyn)

11:56 AM: Our crew arriving in the area says Harbor is still blocked at California.

(ADDED: WSB photo)

12:01 PM: And NOW it’s reopened. The person in crisis is being taken to a hospital. And police/fire are clearing out of the park.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car windows shot out/broken; busy car prowlers; found bicycle

March 19, 2016 10:07 am

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| Crime | West Seattle news

We start this West Seattle Crime Watch update with two reader reports of multiple cars with shot-out/broken windows:

CAR WINDOWS SHOT OUT/BROKEN, FIRST REPORT: That’s one of several photos Mark sent along with this report:

I wanted to make readers aware and ask if anyone saw this incident happen. I parked our vehicle between Admiral Way and SW Lander Street on the East side of the street while we went to dinner at the Copper Coin. Sometime between 9:15 and 10:15 someone shot out 3 of our windows and also damaged the side panels with a BB gun. We filed a police report and now are dealing with the aftermath.

CAR WINDOWS SHOT OUT, SECOND REPORT: Just as we were about to hit “publish,” this hit the inbox, from Alice:

Our truck window was broken last night, along with those of four other cars on our block.

We are at 44th/ Spokane. The police came and said there were other broken windows south of us and he’s looking around for others. They were all the driver-side rear window and the cars were not opened or rifled. Some of the windows have a small hole but the officer couldn’t say if it was a small gun or not.

Too soon to have any idea if this is related to any of the other windows-shot-out incidents that happened around West Seattle some weeks back; no arrests in those as of the last time we had checked.

CAR PROWLS: As this continues to be our area’s biggest crime problem, as noted by police at every community meeting we’ve covered recently, we checked the police-report map to see what’s there for the past week – and found 26 (this does not count incidents from yesterday/today that haven’t even made the map yet but are likely on Tweets by Beat, which you can see on our Crime Watch page) – here’s our screengrab, after configuring the map to only show car prowls:

The mapped car prowls are, as shown north to south:

Thursday morning – 2300 block of California SW
Monday evening – 3200 block of 60th SW
Monday morning – 3000 block of SW Bradford
Sunday afternoon – 4500 block of 36th SW
Wednesday evening – 4800 block of California SW
Tuesday morning – 5000 block of 51st SW
Tuesday morning – 5000 block of 36th SW
Wednesday night – 5900 block of High Point Drive
Sunday night – 6300 block of Beach Drive
Wednesday morning – 2600 block of Sylvan Heights Drive
Last Friday night (reported last Sat.) – 34th SW/SW Myrtle
Last Saturday morning – 3600 block SW Webster
Sunday afternoon – 2400 block of SW Holden
Wednesday night – 2200 block of SW Holden
Tuesday morning – 7700 block of 35th SW
Last Friday night (reported last Sat.) – 7900 block 34th SW
Sunday morning – 600 block SW Kenyon
Thursday afternoon – 8000 block Fauntleroy Way SW
Last Saturday afternoon – 8100 block 16th SW
Last Friday afternoon (reported last Sat.) – 8100 block 34th SW
Last Friday night (reported last Sat.) – 8100 block 34th SW
Last Friday night (reported last Sat.) – 26th SW/SW Thistle
Last Sunday morning – 8500 block 16th SW
Last Sunday night – 8600 block Delridge Way SW
Last Wednesday afternoon – 8600 block 20th SW
Last Friday night (reported last Sat.) – 9200 block 35th SW

FOUND BICYCLE: A potentially stolen “small pink Barbie bike with white tires” was found in California Place Park this past week; if your household is missing one, please contact police to reclaim it.

P.S. For other lost/found items that are NOT pets – please remember we now have a special WSB Forums section for those – please use it if you have lost or found something!

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West Seattle Saturday: What’s up as we say goodbye, winter & hello, spring

March 19, 2016 7:51 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Friday’s sunrise, photographed by Karen Baer)

Happy Saturday! Spring officially arrives tonight. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here’s some of what you can do in the meantime:

SCOUTING FOR FOOD: Local Boy Scout/Cub Scout troops are collecting today in their annual door-to-door donation drive. The usual advance flyering was somewhat thwarted by last Sunday’s windstorm, so check our story (and the comments) to see if you’re in an area where they’ll be going door-to-door.

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: The National Wheelchair Basketball Association‘s women’s championship tournament continues all day, starting at 8 am, in the West Seattle High School gym – see our report here. No admission to drop in and cheer! (3000 California SW)

FREE TAX-PREP HELP: The United Way’s free drop-in help for qualifying taxpayers continues at the West Seattle Food Bank, 10 am-2 pm, explained here. (35th SW/SW Morgan)

VIETNAMESE STORYTIME: 11:30 am-noon at Delridge Library – details here. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

READING DIFFICULTIES? Longtime educator Robert Femiano‘s free workshop is 1-4 pm at High Point Library, for parents of preschool, elementary, and ELL students – details here. (35th SW/SW Raymond)

SPRING BINGO BENEFIT: 6 pm at Seattle Lutheran High School‘s gym, fun(draiser) for the Saints’ athletics program – details in our listing. (4100 SW Genesee)

BLACK-AND-WHITE MOVIE NIGHT: “King Kong” – the 1933 version – at Admiral Bird, 6 pm. (California SW/Admiral Way SW)

EQUINOX SUNSET WATCH: 6:45 pm at Solstice Park, welcome the spring equinox with NASA Solar System Ambassador and Skies Over West Seattle correspondent Alice Enevoldsen‘s sunset watch. The equinox moment is 9:30 pm; Alice’s educational sunset events are always timed with the sunset that’s closest to the equinox or solstice moment, and that means this one. The gathering spot with the equinox/solstice markers is just upslope from the park’s tennis courts, which are across Fauntleroy from the north end of Lincoln Park. (7400 Fauntleroy Way SW)

STEREO EMBERS AT EASY STREET: 7 pm free, all-ages live in-store Easy Street Records performance by Stereo Embers. (California SW/SW Alaska)

ROO FORREST AND FRIENDS: “Eclectic mix” of music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

‘MORNING STAR’: Award-winning comedic drama presented by Seattle Jewish Theater Company at Kenyon Hall, 7:30 pm. (7904 35th SW)

NORTHWEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: 8 pm concert at Holy Rosary features two world premieres. Ticket info is on the orchestra’s website. (42nd SW/SW Genesee)

MORE ON THE CALENDAR … take a minute to go over and browse (all on one page, where you can preview tomorrow and beyond, too).

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VIDEO: Wheelchair-basketball national-championship tournament continues today at WSHS

March 19, 2016 7:07 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Nat'l Wheelchair Basketball Assoc. women's championship tourney just underway @ WSHS gym. 3 games right now. pic.twitter.com/3c2h9gnHLz

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 19, 2016

March is prime time for championship basketball, and you’ll find more of it today at the West Seattle High School gym. Three games on Friday evening tipped off the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Women’s Championship Tournament; 13 games are scheduled today, starting at 8 am. Eight teams are here for the tournament, including the defending champs, the Denver Lady Rolling Nuggets:

That’s #12 Christina Schwab with the ball. Denver was playing the Seattle Storm in one of yesterday’s openers, while another game featured the Milwaukee Lady Bucks vs. the NWSRA Lady Hawks:

For Milwaukee, that’s #4 Mareike Miller with the ball.

The WSHS gym is partitioned into three courts for the tournament; the 8 am games are Milwaukee vs. the PossAbilities Shield Maidens, the Dallas Lady Mavericks vs. Seattle, and Denver vs. the University of Arizona; subsequent games are at 9:45, 11:30, and then two semifinals at each tipoff time of 1:15 pm and 3 pm. Sunday’s schedule has three consolation games at 9 am and the championship game at 11. No admission charge to drop in and watch any or all of the games, which are co-sponsored by Seattle Adaptive Sports; WSHS is at 3000 California SW.

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BASEBALL: West Seattle HS overwhelms Rainier Beach

March 19, 2016 12:17 am

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| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

At Hiawatha Playfield this afternoon, West Seattle High School simply overwhelmed Rainier Beach, 23-3. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the photos and wrapup:

Another beautiful afternoon for baseball at Hiawatha.

Sporting their new home jerseys, West Seattle hosted Rainier Beach. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the first inning and never looked back.

Carson Wright (#17) pitched 4 strong innings, giving up only one run and striking out 8. Junior Daniel Lo (#18) came in to close out the game. In the end, the game only went 4½ innings as West Seattle put up 23 on the Vikings.

Next game is scheduled on Monday, at 3:30 against O’Dea at Bannerwood Ballpark in Bellevue.