West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle Crime Watch: More package thefts

From a theft victim who signed this report “West Seattle taxpayer who wants justice”:

Happened at 2:30 (Wednesday), 46th & Genesee, dog barked and possibly chased off the crooks but the packages are gone. UPS showed up at 2:35, FedEx at 2:45, crook stole the packages at around 3. From what I understand the crooks are following the trucks; I recommend that you send packages to your work or have them held at FedEx or UPS.

Even if you are not expecting any deliveries yourself – if you see someone suspicious in the vicinity of a delivery truck (or anywhere else!) don’t hesitate to call 911 – someone’s tip might just catch serial thieves with a trunkload of other people’s holiday presents.

In case you wondered: Police training @ Genesee Hill campus

Seattle Police use the closed Genesee Hill Elementary campus for training now and then, and neighbors are well aware of that, but something about the police tape around the school tonight led several people to ask us what was going on. (One caller said they hadn’t received the usual neighborhood notice.) We’ve confirmed with SPD, it IS training, and shouldn’t go any longer than 11 pm.

Get your jack-o-lantern on! Pumpkin sale & carving demo

Two notes for pumpkin fans:

PUMPKIN SALE: Saturday, 10 am till 2 pm (or till the pumpkins are all gone, if sooner), the Lincoln Park P-Patch is selling the pumpkins just harvested there last weekend, with proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank. Details in this WSB Forums announcement.

PUMPKIN CARVING DEMONSTRATION: Need some jack-o-lantern skills? Just in:

The Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council is hosting professional pumpkin carver Pam Leno from 1 to 4 pm at Ercolini Park (48th & Alaska) this Sunday (rain or shine!).

There will be demonstrations for decorating your pumpkin this year! We ask everyone to bring your own pumpkin and tools to decorate with. Markers will be provided for the smaller children. The GSNC will be providing free cider and hot coffee.

West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Unique’ getaway car to watch for

Bill shares word of a break-in attempt on Genesee Hill with a “unique” getaway car that you might want to keep an eye out for – read on: Click to read the rest of West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Unique’ getaway car to watch for…

Seattle Pacific students help brighten Genesee Hill School

(Photos courtesy Janet and Bryan Jones)
On Saturday, dozens of new Seattle Pacific University students converged on West Seattle and White Center worksites as part of SPU’s City Quest day of community service – an annual tradition on the Saturday before classes begin. Hundreds more worked elsewhere in the metro area. The volunteers in these photos were among 23 who pitched in to help on the campus of closed Genesee Hill Elementary, which the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council has worked hard to keep from becoming rundown. Today, they had help!

Bryan Jones says the volunteers were treated to Husky Deli ice cream as a reward for their labor:

Other local City Quest volunteer sites included Lincoln Park, the West Duwamish Greenbelt (with Nature Consortium), and Hicks Lake in White Center.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Hate-crime vandalism in Genesee

Police are investigating a case of malicious harassment – the official term for hate crime – and vandalism reported in the Genesee Hill area. We just received this report from one of the targets:

My partner and I live in the 4400 block of 50th Ave SW. After midnight on Friday night, we woke up after hearing a noise from the street. We didn’t know what it was, as our first thoughts were, a sprinkler trying to go off or something involving our cat. My partner opened the front door and turned on the porch lights but didn’t see anything odd.

10 minutes later, that same noise again happened, and I quickly moved the drapes to get a better look. I did see shadows running South on 50th Ave but didn’t see any faces. I walked down to our cars and noticed that both had rocks thrown in our windows. (my partner’s back window and my front driver’s side). His car was in our driveway and my car was along the street, directly in front of our home.

I came back to the house and called 911. Within a few minutes of the call, the Seattle Police department arrived. Officer N. Nguyen and his partner were the first to arrive. We then noticed that all 4 tires of each vehicle had been slashed. When one of the officers found the rock in my partner’s car, it was surrounded by a typed hate note. It read as follows…

God Hates F*gs!
Get the f**k out of our neighborhood.
The bible says God forbids men committing indecent act with other men.
Pack up your sh*t and get you gay sh*t out.
- KKK

Upon notice of this note, both the Sergeant and Lieutenant were notified and arrived on the scene. Another police officer arrived to take pictures and gather the evidence of the rocks and note. One of the police officers told us that they take these crimes “very seriously” and we were thankful for their presence that evening.

We’re checking to see if police have any leads. If you have tips – call 911.

7 PM UPDATE: Chris (who sent the report and says we can use his first name) says, “After speaking with my neighbors, one was outside around midnight last night. He did witness 2 while males walking up the alley behind our house. He did ask both if they were all right and they responded that everything was fine. He thought it was odd that people were walking the alley that late at night. He didn’t get a good look at their face as the alley doesn’t have much lighting. First was described as around 5’10′ish with a stocky, muscular build. The other was around 5’7″ with a chubby build. Both were wearing black.” Also note, we have corrected the block number from Chris’s original report, after comparing with the police-call map and checking with him.

Gardening at Genesee Hill School: Lend a hand this Saturday

(Photo courtesy Genesee Hill School Garden)
On this back-to-school week, neighbors of a closed West Seattle school are getting ready for the second-to-last garden-cleanup day of the year – and inviting you to join in. The Genesee Hill School Garden volunteers and Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council have been working hard along the northwest section of the shuttered school’s grounds. By late August, toward the end of their first growing season, the garden was alive with plants including sunflowers, corn, and tomatoes – and the Genesee Hill gardeners donated close to 100 pounds of produce to the food bank in August alone! As reported here previously, their project got off the ground – and into the ground! – with the help of a city Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, but volunteer labor makes all the difference, and they’re hoping for help this Saturday (September 10th) and two weeks later (September 24th). Both of those days, they’re asking for volunteers to meet them at the front of the school along SW Genesee (map) at 9 am – the tasks will include tending and weeding the beds, and taking steps to discourage invasives.

West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Roaming’ burglar; car theft; more

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share tonight, from the WSB inbox, including a break-in attempt late today whose victims say police told them about a “roaming” burglar, plus another burglary and a car theft – read on (**added Wed. morning, an additional burglary report): Click to read the rest of West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Roaming’ burglar; car theft; more…

West Seattle scene: Random act of seating

That photo from Genesee Hill would be lovely without words – another beautiful West Seattle view on a perfect summer day. But Lolo, who shared the picture, explains the reason it’s worth a smile:

A while back our bench disappeared. This morning a bench appeared at the overlook, magically. Not sure this is hugely newsworthy, but I think it’s an example of anonymous giving that should be recognized.

Reader reports: Two ‘suspicious’ West Seattle encounters

Sometimes reports like the following two will yield “yeah, me too,” or “actually, here’s what that was about” – so toward that end, here are two notes that arrived in the WSB inbox late last night, one from the Genesee area, one from Highland Park: Click to read the rest of Reader reports: Two ‘suspicious’ West Seattle encounters…

West Seattle Crime Watch: Double truck theft in Genesee

First time we’ve heard of one household suffering a double auto-theft hit in a single day/night. Michael says, “You can imagine the shell-shock we’re feeling,” as he reports:

Sometime after 9:30 PM on Monday night, 2 of our trucks were stolen from our street parking. A 1993 Red Nissan King Cab and a 1991 White Ford F-250. We’re on 48th Ave SW between Andover and Dakota.

The ONLY reason we know about this so early was that at 3:48 AM (today), we were woken up by SPD knocking to inquire if we owned the F-250. It’d been involved in a collision in Auburn, and connected with a burglary in that area.

When we started to give them the info on the F-250, my wife looked out and saw that the Nissan was missing also.

We just checked, and so far, no other auto-theft incidents are listed in West Seattle in the past 24 hours of reports noted on the time-delayed police-response map. One other note: As mentioned in the daily preview, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets tonight at the Southwest Precinct, 7 pm – it’s a chance to talk to police leadership about neighborhood crime concerns and to hear firsthand about the latest trends.

Help a garden grow: Genesee-Schmitz hopes you’ll pitch in tomorrow

One day last week in the rain, we caught up with Kerrie, Janet and Karen at the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Garden. It’s in its first season growing on the grounds of the shuttered Genesee Hill Elementary School, where there were gardens when Pathfinder K-8 used the campus.

It’s part of an ongoing effort by the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council to make sure the vacant school doesn’t fall into disrepair; they’ve also arranged for art on the side of some of the buildings, to discourage vandalism. Individual gardeners have signed up for plots but they still need overall volunteer help for the first gardening event of the season – not just in the beds, but also in other areas. So just show up on the north side of the playground at 51st and Dakota, 9 am-1 pm tomorrow. Help tend the beds, distribute wood chips, and pull ivy. Seattle Public Schools (which continues to hold the property for potential future use) is providing tools, gloves, and a “weed wrench.” (GSNC acknowledges donations including wood chips from Seattle Tree Preservation, Zoo-Doo from Woodland Park Zoo, and art murals from Van Asselt Elementary.)

Followup: 1 Genesee Hill mystery solved – injured woman in street

Sunday morning, we published two reader reports of mystery incidents within a few blocks of each other on Genesee Hill. This morning, a comment from Barbara solves one of the mysteries, and we’re republishing it here since few will check back on a 4-day-old thread:

Thanks for your concern and for those who helped my mother-in-law who wandered from home and fell last Saturday evening on SW Genesee. She was once quite a walker around her neighborhood, but of course, not recently until Saturday. She was quite injured and unable to recall her name for several hours at Harborview. Eventually she managed her name and address and the family was contacted. We have been busy with her medical care and adjustments to her living situation since then so missed the Blog entries. Thanks again to all our neighbors who helped her that evening. We are thrilled that West Seattle still has such heroes.

Reader reports: 2 mystery incidents on Genesee Hill

We’ve received two reports of incidents that don’t clearly qualify for West Seattle Crime Watch classification, but are both of potential interest – one as a warning, one as a mystery. One involves a frightening encounter early today, the other a mysterious discovery last night, and both – apparently coincidentally – happened along the Genesee Hill stretch of SW Genesee west of California (map) – read on for both: Click to read the rest of Reader reports: 2 mystery incidents on Genesee Hill…

Genesee natural-gas leak: Broken pipe; should be fixed soon

(Photo by Katie Meyer for WSB)
If you’re in the Genesee area and saw the fire trucks and/or smelled the natural gas in the air – we’ve checked out the gas leak in the 4000 block of 47th SW. A contractor at the scene told WSB contributor Katie Meyer that they accidentally severed a relatively small line and it should be easy to fix. No injuries reported, no major roads blocked, but that block of 47th SW will be a little congested till everything’s fixed and cleared up.

2 invitations from Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council

West Seattle’s newest neighborhood council – the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council, about to celebrate its first year – has two invitations for area residents (here’s the map to use to see if that means you):

BEEFING UP BLOCK WATCHES: Next Tuesday (March 8th), 6 pm at the Southwest Precinct, area Block Watch captains and interested neighbors are invited to a Block Watch meeting, featuring retiring Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow and Community Police Team Officer Ken Mazzuca as well as the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network. The GSNC hopes to find out how many active Block Watches are out there, as well as to get them going in areas that don’t have them yet. (BW captains who can’t attend are asked to contact the council through its website, to share contact and location information.) More details here.

GENESEE-SCHMITZ NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT: This one’s more of a celebration, “to kick off year two,” inviting all area residents to a town-hall forum “where neighbors can share the concerns and interests they want the council to focus on,” followed by a hoedown, led by instructor Dina Blade, with live music by the Canote Brothers. The event is 6:30-8:30 pm March 31st (dancing starts at 7) at West Seattle Christian Church, 4400 42nd SW, $3/person or family donation requested, and you’re asked to bring cookies to share!

West Seattle cancer patient’s car stolen for the 2nd time in 1 year

A Genesee-area cancer patient’s family, hit by a car theft last Mother’s Day (here’s the WSB story from last year), says it’s happened again – this time early Valentine’s Day – and this time, the car had a packed trailer attached, so they are missing a lot more than just a vehicle. It’s a gray 1991 Subaru Legacy Wagon, with DP plates, 02112, and a 4×8 utility trailer with Arizona plates. (Police have already sent it out on their Twitter feed for stolen-vehicle reports – here’s the tweet.) Their firsthand story after the jump: Click to read the rest of West Seattle cancer patient’s car stolen for the 2nd time in 1 year…

West Seattle Crime Watch: Car prowling/egging combined

At the last West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, while noting that local crime has been down lately, Southwest Precinct leadership also warned that some categories invariably go up during the holiday season. Too soon to crunch the local stats but we have received more direct reports in the past few days than we have for a while, and this one from Sandy is the latest:

Sometime between 10 pm and 11 pm last night my Subaru Outback was broken into and when the perps couldn’t find anything, they egged the inside of the car. ARRRGH!! This was at 45th and Andover in the Genesee neighborhood of West Seattle. When I discovered this, I saw a young man running through the neighborhood. I called 911 and the operator was very blase about it. I saw the same young man running through the neighborhood between 11:30 pm and midnight and again called 911. This time I got a different operator who said he would send a patrol car through the neighborhood.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Genesee Hill break-in

Out of the WSB inbox, from a neighbor who didn’t want her name used:

Just learned that my neighbor (2 doors down) was (burglarized) this morning in broad daylight. They left their home at 9 AM and returned at Noon and many electronics were boosted. Most of us on the street were home during that time, but didn’t notice anything.

Another neighbor thinks she saw an older model rust-colored car in the driveway during that time. Around 11 AM, I went on a walk nearby … didn’t notice anything at their house, but did take notice of a car fitting a similar description further down the road. It was a 80′s style small sedan, rusty red color with a bit of a loud muffler/engine. I noticed the car because it was older looking and it was driving rather fast and loud down the road while I was walking.

House is between Dakota and Andover on 50th Ave SW. [map]

The city’s “My Neighborhood” map often shows incidents like this within a day or two – but e-mails like this can get the word out quicker. The map’s default view is for reports filed during the week preceding your map view – three West Seattle burglaries are shown on or since last Saturday, November 20th: that date in the 3300 block of Admiral Way; last Sunday (11/21) in the 8600 block of 35th SW; Wednesday (11/24) in the 12000 block of Marine View Drive.

Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council: Shuttered school’s future

(Art on closed ex-Genesee Hill Elementary building, photo shared by neighbors in July)
West Seattle’s newest community council/association, the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council, just had its latest general-membership meeting last night at West Side Presbyterian Church. The biggest news comes in one of GSNC’s biggest areas of emphasis, the fate of the former Genesee Hill Elementary School, now in its second year of vacancy. Mary Fleck heads the GSNC subcommittee regarding the school and says they’ve been talking with Seattle Public Schools and the city. SPS says the building is not for sale, and is not scheduled to reopen any time in at least the next few years. (As we’d reported earlier this year, it was offered for lease but there were no proposals.) The neighborhood’s cleanups and gardening projects have made the most progress toward keeping it out of disrepair; next step, GSNC plans a round of neighborhood meetings to gather opinions on what should/could be done with the buildings. The district was reported to be open to talks about more use of the GHE gym and auditorium.

Also at GSNC – Presentations from Cindi Barker on preparedness (West Seattle Be Prepared), Benjamin Kinlow on crime prevention (Block Watch), and Dot Beard on the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. (Kerrie Schurr organized last night’s meeting and noted that crime prevention, safety, and preparedness were areas of particular interest for those who attended the last meeting.)

The Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Association doesn’t have a regular meeting schedule yet but you can keep an eye on its website at gsnc.wordpress.com.

Police response on Genesee Hill: Tukwila carjacking arrest

ORIGINAL 2:35 PM REPORT: Thanks to everybody who e-mailed (etc.) about a sizable police presence on Genesee Hill, around 50th/Genesee. We went over to check, and most of the officers were gone, but we noted a Tukwila Police car on scene along with Seattle Police (see photo). Sgt. Sean Whitcomb of the SPD Media Unit only has preliminary information, but he says notes in the system indicate police made some kind of “felony stop” – arresting someone for a potential felony, which usually means lots of backup and guns drawn – and also that it may indeed have something to do with a case in Tukwila. We’re still working to find out more.

6 PM UPDATE: Update from Sgt. Joe Maccarrone: “It was a van taken from Tukwila in a carjacking; our guys spotted it in West Seattle, and one suspect was taken into custody without incident. (Suspect) and van were both turned over to Tukwila PD.”

Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council gets zoo gift, just in time!

From Woodland Park Zoo, to Genesee Hill! The zoo donated a truckload of “Zoo Doo” compost to the Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council – at left in the top photo is Dan Corum, the zoo’s “Dr. Doo,” with GSNC’s master composter/gardening committee co-chair Peter Church, after the truck was filled. From there, on to its destination – the community garden at Genesee Hill School - where you can help too, with another neighborhood work party coming up tomorrow (Saturday, September 18, 9 am-1 pm).

Volunteers started spreading the compost after it arrived, but there’s still lots of work to go around to prepare the garden plots (garden spaces are available) – join GSNC at Genesee Hill if you can; lots more info on their website.

In case you’re wondering: Police training at Genesee Hill School

Just got a few questions about this, and they coincided with a heads up from the Southwest Precinct: Police training is under way at the vacant Genesee Hill Elementary campus, continuing till late tonight. ADDED 3:33 PM: You can see why, if you drive by and don’t see the sign, you might think something had happened – long stretch of yellow tape. From SW Genesee, you will also note that at least one entrance to the playfield below is blocked off. SW Precinct’s Lt. Norm James, by the way, says the neighbors did get advance warning.

Vacant, but not neglected: Beautifying Genesee Hill’s ex-school

Newly hung murals are gracing the walls of the closed-again Genesee Hill Elementary School … ironically, relocated from another closed Seattle Public Schools building, the former home of Van Asselt Elementary on Beacon Hill. That’s part of what’s happening as the new Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council continues working with the district to keep the vacated campus from becoming an eyesore (or worse) – and they’re inviting you to join in a cleanup this Saturday, 9 am-1 pm: it’ll involve gardening, too, starting with the front beds and moving to the north playground as time allows. The GSNC also promises, “There will be free popsicles at noon!”

Update on SW Genesee paving: Now set for Wednesday

Latest from SDOT on the SW Genesee paving project, which they announced last week would expand to four blocks:

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) paving crews have been preparing SW Genesee Street from 47th Avenue SW to 51st Avenue SW for resurfacing. They recently completed grinding off the old asphalt surface. Weather permitting, they plan to lay new asphalt on Wednesday, June 23, from approximately from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this work, traffic flaggers will assist traffic in both directions share a single lane.

SW Genesee paving update: Two more blocks added

We first reported last week on the paving project between 47th and 49th on SW Genesee (map) – thanks to a WSB’er tip. The work was to be done today but got postponed because rain (which hasn’t shown up) was forecast. Now there’s word from SDOT they’re adding a couple more blocks:

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) paving crews have been resurfacing SW Genesee Street from 47th Avenue SW to 49th Avenue SW. They recently completed grinding the old asphalt surface on these two blocks.

Today the crews have been given the “go ahead” to add two additional blocks of Genesee Street to the project, from 49th Avenue SW to 51st Avenue SW. The crews now plan to grind the old surface off of the additional blocks Wednesday (tomorrow), Thursday, and possibly also on Friday. They plan to lay the new asphalt, weather permitting, on Monday and Tuesday, June 21 and 22. One lane of traffic in each direction will remain open.

Genesee Street was not on SDOT’s original list of paving for 2010, but cost savings by the department from other paving projects have enabled SDOT to pave the street this year.

Update: New target day for SW Genesee paving – Tuesday

An update from SDOT‘s Marybeth Turner on the SW Genesee paving plan between 47th and 49th SW: She says they’re now looking at next Tuesday, “weather permitting,” and the work will probably take all day. SDOT says traffic will be able to get through during the work.