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West Seattle Crime Watch: Bullets hit house, van
March 5, 2012 8:20 am
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

Via SPD Blotter, police have just confirmed what Brittany reported last night on the WSB Facebook page – shots were indeed fired outside High Point Community Center, with one hitting a nearby house. The SPD report says in part:

Responding Southwest Precinct officers located evidence of a shooting in the north lot of the High Point Community Center. A van that was parked in the lot (unoccupied) had been struck, as well as the exterior wall of a house across the street in the 3400 Block of SW Willow Street. The residents of the house heard the shots and the bullet hit the house, but it did not penetrate to the interior of the house, and there were no reported injuries. Officers were able to recover shell casings from the parking lot, and the rounds that struck the van and the house.

The SPD report doesn’t mention the types of vehicles seen leaving the area after the gunfire, but Brittany described them as “black newer Jeep Cherokee and red Pontiac Firebird.”

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Update: High Point ‘building fire’ = ‘food on stove’
March 4, 2012 1:39 pm
|    Comments Off on Update: High Point ‘building fire’ = ‘food on stove’
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

1:39 PM: Major response to the 6000 block of Lanham Place SW in High Point. More shortly.

1:51 PM: Our crew reports it turned out to be a “food on the stove” call – smoke but no real fire, and the Fire Department’s wrapping up.

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Election 2012: Governor candidate Inslee coming to West Seattle
February 14, 2012 9:24 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

As far as we can tell, it’ll be this year’s earliest campaign forum in West Seattle: Democratic candidate for governor Rep. Jay Inslee is coming to High Point for a community Q/A session next month. The High Point Neighborhood Association says they also invited Republican candidate state Attorney General Rob McKenna but he “is unavailable.” The forum will be 5:30-8 pm March 15th at High Point Community Center, with refreshments, interpretation, and child care available. (If you’re interested in either or both of the latter two, Shukri Olow would love advance notice at solow@seattlehousing.org or 206-696-3148.)

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Seattle Housing Authority boss Tom Tierney to retire this year
February 8, 2012 3:13 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   High Point | West Seattle news

Of interest particularly to those who live in High Point and other developments/buildings managed and/or owned by the Seattle Housing Authority – SHA’s executive director Tom Tierney announced today that he will retire in August, which is when he turns 65. SHA says it’ll announce plans for the successor search “in the coming weeks.” Full announcement here.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary victim’s reminder
January 14, 2012 9:10 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

It’s been quieter on the burglary front lately; we should hear the newest stats at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting on Tuesday. Meantime, an alert from a break-in victim near 29th and Raymond in High Point, who sent a note this afternoon:Read More

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Something to do with the kids: Free ‘story times’ at local libraries
January 1, 2012 12:37 pm
|    Comments Off on Something to do with the kids: Free ‘story times’ at local libraries
 |   Delridge | Fun stuff to do | High Point | West Seattle news

Here’s a potential New Year’s resolution for parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers of young children – take advantage of Seattle Public Library story times! Children’s librarian Amy LaVare shares a list of what’s scheduled at the Delridge (Brandon/Delridge) and High Point (35th/Raymond) branches the next few months:

JANUARY 5 and all Thursdays through MARCH 8: Preschool Story Time, 11:15 am, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW)

JANUARY 10 and all Tuesdays through MARCH 20: Family Story Time, 7 pm, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW)

JANUARY 12 and all Thursdays through MARCH 29: Toddler Story Time, 11:30 am, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.) No story time on March 15.

JANUARY 23 and all Mondays through MARCH 26: Family Story Time, 7 pm, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.)

JANUARY 28 and all Saturdays through MARCH 31: Vietnamese Story Time, 11:30 am, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW) This story time is offered entirely in Vietnamese.

FEBRUARY 1 and all Wednesdays through MARCH 28: Somali Story Time, 5 pm, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.) This story time is offered entirely in Somali.

Story times are open to the public. Everyone is welcome. No registration is required. Free parking is available at each location. For more information, call the High Point Branch at 206-684-7454, the Delridge Branch at 206-733-9125 or Ask a Librarian.

You’ll also find Story Times at the Southwest, South Park, and West Seattle branches; we’ll be adding these, and those, to our ongoing WSB West Seattle Events calendar, and you can check on daily/weekly events through the calendar on the library website.

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Be inspirational! Talk about your job at Career Night in High Point
November 30, 2011 10:07 pm
|    Comments Off on Be inspirational! Talk about your job at Career Night in High Point
 |   High Point | How to help | West Seattle news

Can you help out with this – a chance to inspire local youth at Career Night for teens at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center next week? Here are all the details:

What: An opportunity for young people to connect to professionals in all sorts of careers and ask them questions about what they do and how they prepared for their careers.

Where: High Point Center Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW)

When: Tuesday, Dec. 6th 4-6 pm

Why: Young people can benefit from talking to adults who are already doing the things they aspire to do about what it takes to get there! We want to give the youth a chance to ask questions and hear about what certain careers are like and for adults to see themselves as resources for youth.

Help us make our career night a success for our youth! We are looking for more professionals from areas of work in Media, Natural Science, Social Science, Medicine, Business, Architectural Studies and Engineering to briefly talk about the work that they do and answer career-specific questions from teens. If you work in a field that was not mentioned or are self employed and would like to share your experience, please also contact Khatsini, YELS (Youth Empowered With Leadership Strengths) program coordinator, at khatsinis@nhwa.org or 206 588 4900 x.627 for further steps.

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West Seattle Soccer Club to inaugurate new Walt Hundley Playfield turf
November 3, 2011 5:09 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

A little more than a year after the field got its new name – honoring Seattle’s first African-American Superintendent of Parks – Walt Hundley Playfield has its new turf. The completion of the $1 million Parks and Green Spaces Levy-funded renovation has just been announced, and the Seattle Parks news release says that West Seattle Soccer Club will officially kick things off with a day full of games this Saturday. The city announcement quotes WSSC board member Tim McMonigle as saying “this will be one of the very few synthetic lined U-10 and U-11 surfaces in the Puget Sound area.” The field (south of High Point Community Center) also has football and Ultimate Frisbee reference markings. It’s the third West Seattle playfield to get new turf in less than two years, after Hiawatha and Delridge.

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New look, new books for library at West Seattle Elementary School
November 2, 2011 2:30 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

For the past month, the library at West Seattle Elementary has been undergoing renovations – 2,000 books, a tech upgrade with iPads, new furniture, new shelves, new carpeting. Today, the overhauled library unveiled to the world. Lauren sent us the above photo via Twitter; when we dropped by for a look, a full complement of photojournalists was there, as was Mayor McGinn (on the other side of the cameras):

The project was the work of the Heart of America Foundation and Target volunteers, dozens of whom were at the school doing more work today, including playground revitalization:

WSES is one of 42 schools around the country in the library-makeover program this year. As part of the project, each WSES student gets seven new books to take home. A commemorative tree was planted too, we were told by WSES counselor Laura Bermes, who summed up the day as “a big deal!”

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West Seattle scene: High Point playground officially opens
September 27, 2011 9:40 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

A little brisk this afternoon as High Point’s new playground – built in a day last Friday, with hundreds of volunteers pitching in – officially opened. But commemorative purple scarves from playground partner KaBOOM! kept community advocates warm:

The new playground is at Bataan Park on the east side of High Point.

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Postscript to High Point dinner: ‘Your donation saved a life’
September 24, 2011 2:08 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   High Point | How to help | West Seattle news

This morning, acknowledgements to share from the planners of a first-of-its-kind fundraiser in High Point earlier this month, a dinner to raise money for famine relief in Somalia – an event that even brought out Mayor McGinn:

High Point’s community builder Shukri Olow shares the photos and these words of appreciation for those who made the event a success – including those in attendance:

First and foremost, we, the planners of the Fundraiser dinner for Mercy Corps and Islamic Relief want to THANK our volunteers, our 11 High Point women who made the delicious and authentic Somali rice, hilib, chicken, qalwa, mandazi, sambusa and tea. AND those who helped serve the food and cleanup! Your commitment to your community is admirable. Our volunteers, and co-workers from Neighborhood House including Fredolyn, Bianca, Denise, Aparna, Jennifer — thank you for your endless efforts in making High Point a better community for all.

Secondly, SPECIAL THANKS to our presenters and those in attendance: Mayor Mike McGinn and his wife Peggy Lynch for their support, Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Executive Director of Neighborhood House Mark Okazaki for his tireless work and engagement in this community.

Thank you Joy Portella-Director of Communications with Mercy Corps, Zuhair Motiwala with Islamic Relief, Seattle Poet Santiago, Asha Mohamed with Seattle Housing, Mohamed Sheikh with Afrique Service Center, Tom Phillips and Julie Wade, Mohamed Moallim with Muslim Housing, and The Seattle Channel for filming our event.

Lastly, THANK YOU DONORS for opening up your wallets and hearts to people unknown to you, to people on the verge of death because of hunger.

We had over 100 people attend our event and raised $4,000 for Islamic Relief and Mercy Corps.To both organizations — your work in countries around the world including Somalia is commendable and I hope that you continue to help those in dire need, even in difficult financial times.

Remember, your donation saved a life and THANK YOU for hearing the stories of those voiceless.

Sincerely,
Shukri Olow and Aser Ashkir

If you missed the event but would still like to help, one of the beneficiary charities, Mercy Corps, has a way to donate online – go here.

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Followup: High Point’s new playground, built in a day!
September 23, 2011 6:17 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Late this afternoon, after hundreds of volunteers built High Point’s new playground at Bataan Park (as previewed this morning), the fences went up, and there they’ll stay till its scheduled opening Tuesday. But we did get to peek through:

For scenes from the action throughout the day – all the way up to the ribbon-cutting – check out High Point resident Wendy Hughes-Jelen‘s album on Facebook.

ADDED 9:36 PM: Commenters have mentioned that our friends at KING 5 were out covering the event today – here’s their story (following an ad which is served by them, not us):

Tuesday’s grand opening is at 4:30 pm.

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Happening now: High Point neighbors build their playground
September 23, 2011 9:30 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Today’s the day – and after a week of clouds, they’re graced with sun. High Point neighbors, with KaBOOM! and the Windermere Foundation, are building their new playground at Bataan Park. Smiles all around as signups began:

We spotted West Seattleite and The Mountain radio personality Marty Riemer digging in, too:

If you remember (or were part of) the playground project in Delridge two years ago, you’ll remember that KaBOOM! team members come dressed for success:

We’ll check back later today. It’s only been two months since High Point got word the playground would be built (this was the second time they’d applied to get one); the grand opening is planned for next Tuesday.

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West Seattle community centers: Ballroom dance; Reptile Man
September 14, 2011 5:38 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Fun stuff to do | High Point | West Seattle news

As this week’s big announcement reminded us all – use your city-run community centers, or risk losing ’em. You’ve already heard about this weekend’s biggest community-center events in West Seattle (Delridge Day and Hiawatha’s Centennial) – but there’s more:

DELRIDGE DANCING: Every month, there’s a ballroom-dancing event at Delridge Community Center, and we just got the announcement that it’s coming up again this Friday afternoon, 1:30-3:30 pm. Billy writes, “As always, you will enjoy and dance to the beautiful music of Lauren Petrie. And get a chance to win a surprise prize.”

(March 2011 photo from PhinneyWood.com, used with permission)
REPTILE MAN AT HIGH POINT: Saturday morning at 10:30 am, High Point Community Center plays host to the famed Reptile Man. If you buy tickets at HPCC ahead of time, it’s $3/person; on Saturday, $5/person ($15 max per family) at the door.

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West Seattle schools: Getting High Point students to Denny
September 14, 2011 2:30 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

The Denny International Middle School students in our photo will be coming back home this afternoon on school buses provided by Seattle Public Schools – after neighborhood residents won a hard-fought victory to get that transportation. More than 60 Denny students who live in the High Point area are technically in the school’s “walk zone” – at its northern edge – but, as discussed at a community forum with SPS officials last year, were provided with public-transit passes. But as their families and neighborhood leaders explained to the district, that still didn’t work for getting them to school on a timely basis. Tom Bishop from the SPS transportation department says he investigated, and he even discovered that Metro wouldn’t get them there in time. He and Denny principal Jeff Clark worked together, he said, and discovered that two school buses headed for Denny had extra capacity, so starting today, those buses are making stops in High Point. At one of the two stops, near the HP Neighborhood Center, they even had a mini-celebration to welcome the bus (as shown in our photo), but there was a glitch: That bus didn’t show up; it went to the wrong spot, waited several minutes, found nobody, and moved on. Bishop told WSB they’ve straightened things out and both buses will be bringing the students home this afternoon, picking them up tomorrow, etc. Overall, he says, one week after the start of school, they are still working out some of the bugs in the newly overhauled transportation plan (which has fewer buses, each making more runs, in hopes of saving money).

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Preschoolers’ backpacks stolen
August 9, 2011 5:49 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

This one couldn’t wait till the next roundup. Maybe you’ll see the backpacks/bottles if the crooks dumped them after realizing there was nothing monetarily valuable inside. From Stephanie at Neighborhood Preschool:

I took my preschoolers to the High Point Playfield today, and a thief took 2 of our backpacks with our water bottles in them. One backpack is gray and white camouflage, the other is an orange backpacking pack. If found, please return to the High Point Community Center, or call 206-938-6368 and leave a message. These items have no resale value, but are important to these small children who don’t understand why someone would steal from them.

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West Seattle parks: Walt Hundley Playfield work under way
August 5, 2011 8:07 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Yet another project in progress in West Seattle: While in the High Point area earlier this week, we noticed work is well under way at Walt Hundley Playfield south of HP Community Center. It’s set to get synthetic turf, with $1 million from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy. It wasn’t originally on the levy list, but Parks saved so much money from other projects, including the recent Delridge turf installation, they were able to add this one. The project webpage is here; one community meeting was held, back in April, and our coverage of that is here.

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Clotheslines banned at High Point – but maybe not for long
July 28, 2011 4:24 pm
|      38 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | High Point | Utilities | West Seattle news

Sightline Institute, which advocates for sustainability, recently set out to find out where in the Northwest it’s against the rules to hang your laundry out to dry. With help – including Diane‘s thread in the WSB Forums – they discovered several communities, including the High Point development here in West Seattle – a place where clotheslines aren’t allowed, though “green” features abound. Sightline says the ban is a missed opportunity for saving a significant amount of electricity. So why isn’t outdoor laundry-drying allowed at High Point? We asked the Seattle Housing Authority, which manages the development, and spokesperson Virginia Felton sent a lengthy reply – including word that the policy might be up for reconsideration:Read More

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Video: West Seattle Health Fair, with a ‘flash mob’!
July 22, 2011 6:00 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | High Point | West Seattle news

If you drove 35th SW in the High Point area in the past half-hour or so – you might have seen the “flash mob” dancers on the sidewalk north of Walgreens, part of the West Seattle Health Fair, continuing till 8 pm. (added) Here’s the video:

There’s a “healthy food” tour at the drugstore – which carries fresh produce – and the nearby High Point Market, as well as a bigger concentration of activities, including free health testing, a few blocks away in the parking lot behind High Point Neighborhood Center (Sylvan Way and Lanham):

Entertainment, too.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Wash House robbed; Gatewood search
July 16, 2011 1:59 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Gatewood | High Point | West Seattle news

Thanks to everyone who sent notes tonight wondering about sirens/police searching/etc. Sometimes, it’s nothing. In this case, we have information on two cases, after checking with police. First – the Wash House in the 6300 block of 35th SW (map) was robbed just after 9:30 pm. Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says the robbers were described as “four young-adult-age suspects, one of whom was armed with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun.” It was later found and turned out to be a pellet gun. It was used to hit the laundromat clerk in the head; Lt. Williams says Seattle Fire crews treated the clerk for a “laceration.” No arrests so far. We also asked about officers searching in the Gatewood area, around the 6700 block of 38th SW (map), in the 11 pm hour. He says a resident called 911 after hearing “noises outside her home”; officers searched but didn’t find anything.

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High Point to finally get a new playground from KaBOOM!
July 15, 2011 12:34 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(WSB photo from May 2009, KaBOOM! Delridge design meeting)
Two years ago, Delridge got a new playground thanks to the nonprofit KaBOOM! Now, another West Seattle neighborhood is getting one – High Point. They’ve been trying for a while, and now Bataan Park has been chosen, according to news shared by High Point Neighborhood Association‘s Jennifer Cobb. The playground will be built on September 23rd – but first, it has to be designed, and as was the case with Delridge, there will be a “Design Day” for kids. It’s set for next Tuesday, July 19th, at the Neighborhood House-operated High Point Neighborhood Center. It’s estimated that this playground will serve more than 500 kids in the High Point area. The event will be ongoing from 4:30-7:30 pm on Tuesday; the center is at 6400 Sylvan Way SW. Partners in the playground project include the Windermere Foundation.

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Happening now: 1st week for High Point Market Garden Farm Stand
July 13, 2011 5:31 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | High Point | West Seattle news

Cheap, organic, fresh vegetables – as fresh as if you picked them yourself – are on sale right now at the summer’s first weekly High Point Market Garden Farm Stand shopping availability (32nd/Juneau, till 7 pm). The veggies are grown feet away:

Just park on Juneau – if you’re not walking, biking, busing – and look for the stand’s canopy:

Besides what you see in our top photo, they also have various greens including lettuce, plus peas, carrots, and potatoes. And if you miss it today, they’re open again every Wednesday TFN, 4-7 pm.

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Fresh produce at High Point Farm Stand: Season starts tomorrow
July 12, 2011 10:33 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Gardening | High Point | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from July 2010)
In case you haven’t already seen it in the WSB West Seattle Events calendar – the city just sent a reminder that the High Point Market Garden Farm Stand opens for the season tomorrow afternoon. Every Wednesday through September, you can buy fresh produce there – grown and picked just feet away – from 4 till 7 pm. According to the city Department of Neighborhoods‘ announcement, what’s fresh right now includes “spinach, carrots, leafy greens, new onions, peas, turnips, and radishes.” The High Point stand is at 32nd and Juneau (map) – be sure to peek through the fence at the beautiful mini-farm/garden while you’re there.

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