day : 23/04/2017 10 results

Two Crime Watch notes tonight:

ROXHILL PARK ROBBERY: This is from the online SPD files – one of the few incidents in the past week with a narrative added in the publicly visible system; we noticed it while checking those files tonight. The report says a 14-year-old boy was robbed of his phone, wallet, and other items in a “wooded area” of the park shortly before 6 pm Tuesday (April 18th). The victim told police he and two others were walking in the park when they crossed paths with a group of a half-dozen or so other teenage boys. Two of them pushed the victim to the ground and started hitting him while demanding his belongings. He told police one looked like a former schoolmate of his and described him as Hispanic, male, teens, heavyset, about 5-8 to 5-10, no clothing description, while saying the other robber/attacker was black, male, teens, 200-210 pounds, 5-8 to 5-10, short hair, gray coat, blue jeans. No arrests were reported; SFD medics treated the victim for injuries described in the police report as a black eye and lip laceration.

PACKAGE THEFT? Amy in High Point found torn-open, empty Amazon Prime packaging on the sidewalk near her home, addressed to someone about three blocks away:

That’s about half the box, which was inelegantly torn open, raising Amy’s suspicions; the other half has the recipient’s full name and address. Nothing inside by the time Amy found it. The recipient’s initials are AA. If that’s you and you’re missing a package – let us know (bonus if you have a police report # – this might be matchable as evidence).

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Lincoln Park now part of Seattle Audubon’s Neighborhood Bird Project

April 23, 2017 8:55 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | Wildlife

(NBP volunteers; photo provided by Kersti Muul, who’s in the front row, third from left)

Even if you’re not a full-fledged birder, you know West Seattle is a great place for bird-watching. And now it’s drawn a special designation related to that: Kersti Muul tells us that Lincoln Park is now part of Seattle Audubon‘s Neighborhood Bird Project:

The NBP started in 1995 and Lincoln Park is the first new addition in over a decade!

Basically, the NBP utilizes citizen science to monitor species diversity throughout the city of Seattle.

Audubon volunteers, under the guidance of a group leader for each park (I am the leader for Lincoln Park), conduct bird surveys once a month on a set date and time. The data we gather is then entered into a master database. The data are used to monitor urban bird abundance, assess the effectiveness of restoration projects, and to educate volunteers regarding their neighborhood habitat, phenology, etc.

Audubon encourages volunteers to pick a park that is in their neighborhood for this reason, as it makes them a stronger and better educated advocate for their locale. Anyone interested can contact Toby Ross, science manager at Seattle Audubon (tobyr@seattleaudubon.org).

You can find out more about the NBP here.

Seattle Audubon, by the way, is the source for the BirdWeb infopages we link to species names in the captions of the bird photos featured atop many morning previews on WSB (thanks to the wonderful local photographers who share them, some of whom are involved in the NBP) – BirdWeb provides a wealth of information about each species found in Washington, including what the birds look like, what they sound like, and where their habitats and ranges are.

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COUNTDOWN: Register by Thursday for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2017

April 23, 2017 8:10 pm

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| Community Garage Sale Day | West Seattle news

Thanks to everyone who’s already signed up their sales for the 13th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coming up Saturday, May 13th … less than three weeks away! Registration has been open for 2 1/2 weeks now and has four more days to go — the deadline is 9 pm Thursday (April 27th).

Browsing the 220+ sales signed up so far, we see addresses all around the peninsula – Admiral, Alki, Arbor Heights, Brace Point, Delridge, Fauntleroy, Gatewood, Genesee Hill, Highland Park, High Point, Morgan Junction, Pigeon Point, Puget Ridge, Seaview, Sunrise Heights, The Junction, Westwood, and a few just south of the official West Seattle border, in North Shorewood and White Center – plus many points inbetween (not everyone’s in a named sub-neighborhood!). Lots of great-sounding sales in yards and garages and courtyards, plus benefit sales, block sales, business sales, nonprofit sales, even a P-Patch sale … We end registration semi-early so that we can get the maps and listings out a week in advance, so shoppers can plot their stops, neighbors can find out what’s happening on nearby blocks, etc.

If you’re selling and not signed up yet, go here (be ready to include your up-to-20-word attention-grabbing listing text). If you’re shopping – keep watching WSB for updates and previews!

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West Seattle weekend scene: Another film crew

April 23, 2017 7:20 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Seen around town | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Friday, a commercial in Sunrise Heights; this weekend, a short film along Beach Drive. We saw the trucks and equipment late today outside a waterfront complex south of Constellation Park and stopped by to inquire; they just said the shoot is for a “short film” and they will be done this evening. Subsequently combing various corners of the internet, we turned up a production-help-wanted listing mentioning a West Seattle shoot this weekend for an independent short film called “Victory“; cross-referencing that to an audition call, the plot summary is: “Our film catapults the viewer into the last fifteen minutes of the story of a mysterious insurgency group trying to do something about a chain-reaction holocaust.” We’ll make a note to watch for it when it’s done.

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BIZNOTES: Barre3 coming to Springline space

April 23, 2017 5:51 pm

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| Health | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Another business on the way: Sarah Heitman e-mailed to say she’s opening a barre3 – “an exercise studio that offers barre classes in a beautiful space WITH child care” – in one of the ground-floor commercial spaces at Springline (WSB sponsor). But while barre3 is a chain with locations in 28 states, Heitman notes that she is a West Seattle resident and is “keeping it local” even more with the help of a real-estate agent, lawyer, and architect from West Seattle. She’s expecting to open sometime this summer.

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UPDATE: Rescue response for crash at Olson/Cambridge

April 23, 2017 3:49 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

3:49 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a sizable “rescue” response to a crash reported at Olson Place/Cambridge Place [map]. More to come.

4:05 PM: Just arriving in the area. Police have Olson blocked at Roxbury.

4:14 PM: Added a photo of one of the two cars involved – the other is on the road itself. We are told one person is being taken to the hospital. While the east/northbound lanes remain closed, one lane is open coming uphill (south/westbound).

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PLEA FROM A PARENT: Enrolling in Seattle Public Schools this fall? Here’s why sooner is better than later

April 23, 2017 2:26 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Last week, we reported on the waitlists for some local schools, for those who want to attend Seattle Public Schools outside the ones to which they’re geographically assigned. Even if you’re interested in a school that doesn’t have a waitlist, it’s important to get enrolled ASAP – especially if your child is an incoming kindergartener and isn’t signed up in the SPS system yet. The reminder was e-mailed to us by Erika Rasmussen, a Genesee Hill Elementary parent and PTA member who e-mailed us this week asking if we would share it with you. While the plea applies in particular to new kindergarteners and transfer students headed for that school – West Seattle’s most populous – it applies to all others as well, so that planning can be done without worrying about big last-minute changes. Here’s how Erika explains it:

At our PTA meeting (this week), we learned through the most recent enrollment projections that Genesee Hill Elementary School is currently projected to have approximately 760 students for the 2017-2018 school year (this projection also includes 149 Kindergarten students). The principal and staff are currently trying to budget and plan for staffing, resource, and even classroom space for next year (we are already busting at the seams in our new building and will be over capacity next year if this projection number remains or grows).

As you may know, Genesee Hill and many other local West Seattle schools have struggled in the past to correctly plan and budget for class sizes, staffing, and resources. Having more accurate numbers from actual enrollments will help schools plan.

What would greatly help these schools is for families who have youth at home that are ready to start Kindergarten in the fall to get them registered ASAP with the school district. I am a parent of an incoming Kindergartner and have heard from families new to the system that they find the enrollment process a bit challenging, especially with all the additional supplemental paperwork that is required to enroll students. I would love to encourage families to go ahead and complete the application form ASAP and submit it to the district. Some families have had challenges in obtaining the required State Immunization Forms and have said that this may be what is holding them back from registering their soon to be kindergartners. They do not have to have this form to begin the enrollment process [noted here].

We would also like to let the community know that even though the district states that enrollment is open and ongoing, local schools really want to encourage families to enroll ASAP (preferably before mid-May, when principals will have to make tough decisions regarding staff and classroom sizes). We would also like to encourage families who may have recently moved to new neighborhoods within West Seattle (which would put them in a new school zone for next year), or students who will be leaving private schools and joining their neighborhood public schools, to also enroll their students ASAP. This will help with planning across all grades (some schools are facing more split classes among multiple grades due to current enrollment numbers).

Any of this apply to your family? You can start the registration process right now by going here. That page includes information and links to forms, as well as a minute-long video that notes you can turn in your forms in person, by fax, or by e-mail.

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ALSO TODAY: University of Washington beach volleyball @ Alki

April 23, 2017 11:11 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

11:11 AM: Remember that brilliantly sunny day last April when the University of Washington Huskies played their first-ever home beach-volleyball match – at Alki? (If not, here’s our coverage.) We just noticed via Twitter that they’re doing it again today. Might be the last time, since they’ve just built beach-volleyball courts on the UW campus, and that’s where they won 5-0 on Saturday vs. Boise State (corrected), same team they’re playing at Alki today (scheduled to have just started, at 11). This is also the last game of the regular season.

12:45 PM: Stopped by for a couple quick pix. Fans are undaunted by the rain. Play-by-play continues on the team’s Twitter account.

3:45 PM: Huskies report another 5-0 win.

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HAPPENING NOW: Spring 2017 Recycle Roundup until 3 pm

April 23, 2017 10:17 am

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| Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

(WSB photo)

Outside Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW), the spring Recycle Roundup is in its second hour, with a steady stream of people dropping off items to be recycled through nonprofit 1 Green Planet. You’re invited to do the same – no charge – until 3 pm today. The friendly folks at the church Green Committee, who coordinate this twice a year, are hoping you can go sooner rather than later, so everyone can be processed as quickly as possible and there’s no last-hour backup.

P.S. Here again is the list of what you can and can’t recycle there today.

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West Seattle Sunday: Recycle Roundup; Earth Day storytelling; seed swap; music; more…

April 23, 2017 6:30 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Sunday: Recycle Roundup; Earth Day storytelling; seed swap; music; more…

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(“Dunlin are moving through, headed for the High Arctic,” reports photographer Mark Wangerin)

Ways to spend your Sunday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

RECYCLE ROUNDUP: Don’t need it? Can’t sell it? Recycle it! 9 am-3 pm today at Fauntleroy Church, it’s the spring Recycle Roundup. Here’s the list of what will and won’t be accepted. Free, but the Green Committee – which organizes this popular event – gratefully accepts contributions. If you’re coming to drop some stuff off, don’t wait till the last minute – things move faster earlier! (9140 California SW)

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, year-round, in the street, in The Junction. Returning for the season today – Langley Fine Gardens from Vashon Island, which says they’re bringing “tomato, cold-weather veggie and herb starts, as well as our usual unusual flower starts”! (California between Oregon and Alaska)

VILLAGE GREEN NURSERY REOPENS – ART & SEED SWAP TODAY: 10 am-6 pm, second day of reopening weekend at Village Green Nursery. We stopped in on Saturday for this photo of new proprietors Noah and Sarah:

Today they are again hosting Peggy Johnson‘s oil-painting show “Nature.” Also today, a seed swap at 1 pm. (10223 26th SW)

RECYCLE YOUR VASES/CONTAINERS AT FLEURT: Earth Day weekend again brings the vase/container recycling event at Fleurt in The Junction, which is celebrating its 8th anniversary this month. Bring yours in and “receive a little gift from Fleurt.” Open today 11 am-4 pm. (4536 California SW)

EARTH DAY STORYTELLING: 2-4 pm at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse and Cultural Center – see the lineup of storytellers and musicians here. Free. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)

FRANK ZUVELA @ SOUTHWEST STORIES: 2 pm at South Park Library, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Seattle Public Library present this month’s “SouthWest Stories,” featuring Frank Zuvela talking about “Riverside Lives! Little-Known Stories of a Croatian Fishing Community.” Here’s his video invitation:

Learn about a historic West Seattle community you might never have heard about. Free! (8604 8th Ave. S.)

CAM BRADFORD: Singer-songwriter at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)

MUSIC NORTHWEST PRESENTS ‘CELLOS!’ 3 pm at Olympic Recital Hall on the south end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus – musician and program details here. (6000 16th SW)

WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY ORCHESTRAS’ ENSEMBLE: 6:30 pm, special performance at Providence Mount St. Vincent Chapel. Free – all welcome. (4831 35th SW)

LUCKY BROWN & THE SGs: Music-release party at Parliament Tavern, 8 pm. No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

PREVIEW THE WEEK AHEAD …on our complete-calendar page.

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