7:11 AM UPDATE: A Toyota pickup has gone off the road and into a yard. Police have Holden shut down right now between 14th and 16th but the tow truck is already there so it might not be for too long. At least one person is hurt – a private ambulance is on scene.

7:26 AM UPDATE: Police at the scene tell us the truck’s driver was the one taken to the hospital – private ambulance generally means NOT life-threatening injuries – and was alone in the truck. We’re waiting for the tow truck to get the truck out of the yard to check on possible damage to the house, which neighbors say was unoccupied.

7:37 AM UPDATE: It doesn’t appear the house was hit; the damage looks to be confined to the fence the truck went through, and the grassy slope/yard. (Thanks to everyone who texted and e-mailed us about the chopper, which is what tipped us to the fact that what was only a medic call on the 911 log was actually a crash.)

8:55 AM: Went back to the scene a little while ago and SW Holden is completely clear again.

Today’s biggest Spring Clean event was in White Center, with hundreds of volunteers – many of whom gathered at the plaza in Greenbridge to celebrate afterward. We have more photos on our partner site White Center Now. Just a few miles north, in Highland Park, this was Spring Clean day too, with multiple locations – we photographed volunteer Craig at the SW Kenyon street end slope near 14th SW:

And north from there, on Puget Ridge, Tasha Mosher shares a photo, explaining, “Puget Ridge volunteers rocked the clean up today! Here is a picture from the clean up at the Myrtle Stairs. Ilah Mosher joined approximately 15 other volunteers to pick up garbage, clear storm drains, and prune back weeds and shrubs. Fun was had by all!”

Congratulations to everybody who joined forces today – and so many other days – to brighten up their neighborhoods.

Residents of Puget Ridge will be cleaning up the neighborhood as part of the City’s annual Spring Clean campaign tomorrow from 10 am to noon. Neighbors will meet at 5644 17th Ave SW to pick up supplies and form work teams at 9:30 am.

Other neighbors will be meeting at 10 am at Sanislo Elementary, including the team that will be cleaning and restoring the natural area at the school. There will also be a team cleaning the Myrtle steps as a combined effort with volunteers from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council.

If you can help tomorrow, just show up in one of those spots! As for the other two = White Center Spring Clean has ended registration for participants, but Highland Park is welcoming help, and you can get details here. Anybody else spring cleaning tomorrow?

(Click to see full-size map, as PDF)
ORIGINAL 11:56 PM TUESDAY REPORT: 200 homes in Highland Park will only get trash pickup every two weeks, for six months, starting in July. You might have heard about the city’s “One Less Truck” pilot program, to see if every-other-week pickup will work (explained here); tonight, we learned that part of West Seattle will be in the program. Carl Woestwin of Seattle Public Utilities made the announcement during the WS Crime Prevention Council meeting tonight (though trash pickup has nothing to do with the group’s usual scope). The area affected is bounded by SW Barton on the north, SW Roxbury to the south, 15th SW to the west, and 11th SW to the east.

Woestwin says homes from single-family through fourplexes in the area will be required to participate, and will get a $100 stipend for their trouble. All the affected homes have been notified via letters and/or flyers, he said. They can choose to get larger trash containers, or try to see if they can make it work, and that’s what the experiment is for. Woestwin said that the city estimates changing to every-other-week pickup could save $6 million citywide. This part of Highland Park is the only test area in West Seattle and one of only four citywide; a community meeting is planned in early June (he wasn’t sure of the date – we’ll seek confirmation Wednesday) and then SPU will come back to the neighborhood in September “to find out how they’re going.”

ADDED 11:25 AM: We followed up this morning with SPU, whose Brett Stav provided some information, including the FAQ they have put together (apparently, though, it is not on their website, because, he says, “We’re trying to keep the study as scientific as possible and avoid confusing our non-participating customers, so we haven’t broadly advertised this project outside of the participating neighborhoods”) and the rate card for participants – read on:

First, the rates. Here’s the rate card (PDF) that has been mailed to the participating households, according to Stav. Note that if a participant already have one of the smallest trash containers, the rate reduction during the six-month experiment is small – a one-dollar reduction from the $17 monthly rate for “microcan” users” – but those with the largest container, 96 gallons, will see their monthly rates more than halved (from $84 to $39).

Second, here’s the FAQ:

What is this “One Less Truck Project” that the Seattle City Council is considering?

The Seattle City Council has asked Seattle Public Utilities to conduct a six-month study of the effects of every-other-week garbage collection among 800 single-family homes in Seattle.

What are the benefits of every-other-week garbage collection?

Seattle Public Utilities estimates that citywide every-other-week garbage collection will reduce waste sent to the landfill, increase recycling, reduce noise, air and traffic pollution, and save $6.4 million on Seattle’s annual garbage system collection costs.

When will this project begin?

The six-month project will start on July 1, 2012, and end on December 31, 2012.

Where will this project take place? How will these areas be chosen?

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will choose approximately 800 households in four areas of the city that closely reflect Seattle’s overall demographic population. SPU staff chose pilot areas with several considerations in mind, including geography, age, income, race and garbage-service level that best reflect the city’s overall makeup. By making the pilot program representative of diverse Seattle residents, SPU will be able to accurately observe what would happen if the entire city switched to every-other-week garbage collection.

One Less Truck Project areas include:
30th Ave NE to 35th Ave NE/NE 85th St. to NE 90th St.
31st Ave S to 34th Ave S/S Dearborn to S Day
Rainier Ave to 45th S/S Clover to S Kenyon 11th Ave SW to 15th SW/SW Barton to SW Roxbury

Can I opt-in to the every-other-week garbage program?

No. In order to keep the results of the program as scientific as possible, volunteers cannot be accepted.

Is leaving garbage out for two weeks sanitary?

The King County Public Health Department has approved every-other-week garbage collection. Other cities that have implemented every-other-week garbage service, including Olympia and Renton, have not found any measureable increases in odors or pests. Now that food waste is allowed in weekly curbside food and yard collection, there aren’t a lot of things left in the garbage that would cause odors.

When will the City of Seattle switch to citywide every-other-week garbage collection?

The results of this every-other-week garbage program will be used to help city officials decide whether to launch citywide every-other-week garbage collection, possibly as early as 2015.

Again, this ONLY is affecting a 200-household area in Highland Park during the July-to-January test – the only area in West Seattle that’s part of the pilot project – but its results will be reviewed, along with three similarly sized areas elsewhere in the city, to determine whether to try it citywide.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Nick Parisi of Highland Park plans to open the doors to Athena’s restaurant today at 11 am.

We first told you three months ago about the plan for the newly designed Greek-themed spot (across from Fire Station 11 at 16th and Holden, in the original home of Zippy’s Giant Burgers, now in White Center) will also be the brick and mortar commissary for Athena’s food truck [reported here by WSB].

The family’s new food truck carries on the food-stand circuit tradition begun by Nick’s father 30 years ago at countless Seattle events and festivals. It has been operating in the parking lot as a kind of soft run for the cuisine to be offered indoors and has had steady business, but this past weekend the busy festival season for the Athena truck began with a gig at the Mobile Food Rodeo in Fremont as well as a taco challenge. So the truck will no longer be around as the busy season begins and the sit-down Athena’s doors finally open.

As Nick took the paper off the windows last night, we chatted with him about the grand opening. In preparation for the big day, he had just started the first batch of three or four kinds of fresh gelato, and an employee had begun the slow caramelization of heaps of savory Walla Walla sweet onions, which Athena’s uses in everything from falafel sandwiches to traditional gyros with lamb and beef to food with vegetarian Field Roast (made by a Seattle-based company). Lighter fare includes a Greek salad and for libations, Nick will offer Schooner Exact on tap Tuesday, but with plans to add an additional option soon.

Most items are in the $6-$10 range and Nick says, for now, the new spot will be open until 8 every day until they figure out the best schedule.

The opening celebration will continue this weekend with live music courtesy of the band The Madelines; the exact time has not been set, but we’ll add it to the calendar as soon as we find out.

Find Athena’s on Facebook, here.

If you don’t know her already – that’s Martha Mallett. She’s the Highland Park resident who along with her son survived a fire at their home last Tuesday (WSB coverage here). On Saturday, she stopped by to see neighbors Lisa and Randy Leininger, who organized a benefit to sell hot dogs and lemonade:

Tonight Lisa shared these photos along with an update on the community’s outpouring:

We had an amazing turnout for our fundraiser on Saturday. It was great to see so many of you come out to show your support for Martha and Brian. Even some of the guys from Fire Station 11 showed up! Because of all your generosity, we were able to raise $1,452 the day of and have received two more donations since then bringing the total to $2000! I know the family is overwhelmed and so grateful, as are we. I feel so fortunate to live in a community that really supports one another. Thank you and big hugs to everyone who donated.

Here’s some of Martha’s family and friends:

We had mentioned on Saturday night that Highland Park Improvement Club‘s annual “Wine for Our Times” fundraiser was planning to donate raffle proceeds to Martha and Brian, since she has been their longtime “raffle queen.” One other donation – look again at the top photo – Lisa says Nicole from HPIC gave Martha the corsage to let them know they were thinking of her though she couldn’t make it to this year’s event!

At the Highland Park Improvement Club tonight, festive gift baskets await the raffle that’s yet to come at the popular “Wine for Our Times” celebration – and it has a special purpose tonight: It will benefit Martha Mallett, longtime HPIC member whom the club describes as their “raffle queen,” and her son Brian, who lost their belongings in the 20th SW house fire a few days ago. It’s just part of the outpouring shown to the fire survivors; earlier today, as previewed here, neighbors sold hot dogs and lemonade, and we are told Martha stopped by.

CRIME & ILLEGAL TRAIL BIKING: The police update was courtesy of Community Police Team Officer Jon Kiehn, who had been centerstage at the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network meeting the night before (WSB coverage here). With the help of HPAC co-chair Carolyn Stauffer, he explained the latest map of local crime trends:

The most notable crime trend involved two robberies around the 16th/Holden mini-business district. Residents noted that the area had seemed a little sketchy during the many months the entire Seamart/ex-Zippy’s building was empty (though now Seamart is open again, and the Athena’s truck is often there, with a café to follow). Officer Kiehn said he’s been working with Athena’s owner, and they got City Light to put a light in the alley. Meantime, he reiterated that if you see anything suspicious, call 911.

Then came the discussion of motorcycles on trails in the forest and park, which has come up at other HPAC meetings. Officer Kiehn says he’s talking to Seattle Parks about better signage, to make sure the motorcyclists know they’re not supposed to be using the trails. Would it help to record them on video? he was asked. Answer: No, since state law requires an officer to see the violation in order to cite the rider. Some of the meeting attendees told him about the most frequently used entry points, so that’s where he’ll talk with Parks about signage.

RAIN GARDENS: Amy Waterman from Sustainable Seattle was circulating applications for their rain-garden scholarship program. Here’s the link. Time’s running out to apply, she said, but they’re looking for people with enough yard space to hold a small raingarden that would soak up the runoff of one downspout. The HPIC building itself might be a candidate, she suggested.

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN: HPAC of course paid tribute to HPIC’s Julie Schickling, who had just won the first-ever “Delridge Unsung Heroes” Volunteer of the Year award the previous Friday night (WSB coverage here).

UPCOMING EVENTS: In addition to Spring Clean on May 19th, the annual Wine For Our Times is coming up at HPIC on May 5th – full details on their website.

Highland Park Action Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of the month, 7 pm, at Highland Park Improvement Club, 12th/Holden.

Ready to garden? The Westcrest P-Patch is about to be built, and ready to build its gardener/volunteer team, too! Here’s the official announcement (along with the finalized design, shown above):

After two community garden design meetings, the Westcrest P-Patch community garden project is planning to start construction next month in Seattle’s Westcrest Park! (Located at 9000 8th Ave. SW) The plan is to create over 200 10′ x 10′ garden plots following the final design which will feature crushed rock and wood chip pathways that interact with existing park features, gathering and storage structures, an out-door “kitchen”, and lots of room for artistic elements and common spaces.

The plots will be open to both Seattle residents as well as residents living in nearby unincorporated King County such as White Center which is two blocks from the south border of the park.

If you are interested in a plot, your probability of getting a spot will correlate to the number of hours you donate to the project. The more you volunteer the higher your chances of getting a plot. The Steering Committee is currently trying to determine what portions of the construction will be performed by contractors and what we, as a community, are willing to take on. If we can keep costs below the $90,000 budget, we can use the surplus funds to enhance the project. There are innumerable ways that you can volunteer in both outreach and construction.

Please contact Phi Huynh if you would like to explore volunteer opportunities.

E-mail: phi.huynh@seattle.gov
Phone: 206-684-4531

That half-minute video clip represents the first time we’ve ever seen a uniformed Seattle Police officer demonstrate jump-rope moves. (Even after 30-plus years in the news business, there still are some firsts!)

But we’re getting ahead of the story.

SPD Community Outreach Officer Tomeka Williams was one of the visitors for a special assembly at Highland Park Elementary this afternoon, teaching about pedestrian safety and helping celebrate a new grant to make it a reality:

Right before the assembly, we photographed HP principal Ben Ostrom with SAFE Kids Seattle‘s Dr. Brian Johnston from Harborview Medical Center (bet you guessed that he’s the guy in the white coat!). The check says $25,000, and that’s being added to a different $75,000 grant. Pedestrian safety is REALLY important there because, among other things, the school has multiple arterials nearby – among them, Barton and Trenton. That’s why, besides jumping rope, Officer Williams offered advice including using the “stare face” to make sure a driver sees you, before you walk into the street:

Safety is part of the HPARK slogan through which the principal led his students:

The safety skills will be practiced with “Walking School Bus” events each Wednesday morning next month.

By the way – though she’s not in our visuals and tried to stay “behind the scenes,” it must be noted that one of the people instrumental in making all this happen is Highland Park Elementary parent Rachael Wright, who’s been working on pedestrian-safety issues surrounding the school, and getting grants to address them, in connection with a wide variety of groups and agencies. Congratulations!

(Photo courtesy Doug, scene at Henderson)
6:07 PM: We’re at the scene of a crash in Highland Park at 15th and Henderson that is reported to have involved a police pursuit, apparently northbound from the White Center area, as King County Sheriff’s Office units are reported to be involved. More shortly.

(Scene at Trenton, where stolen car was found – this photo and next one by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
6:12 PM: Our crew at the scene has been told so far that a stolen car was being pursued and collided with the KCSO unit; the stolen car continued another block or so north to SW Trenton and was abandoned. Seattle Police are at that scene and have talked to a “person of interest” who is reported to have admitted being in the stolen car; officers are still looking for the driver and possibly one other person. We’re not sure yet about injuries.

6:39 PM UPDATE: Just past the damaged KCSO car, there’s a truck up on a lawn in the area but KCSO at the scene won’t comment on how it got there. SW Henderson is still blocked at the scene and according to Metro, that’s diverting Route 23 buses.

6:45 PM UPDATE: Kyle Moore from Seattle Fire says a 57-year-old woman, “not an officer,” was taken to the hospital by private ambulance with minor injuries.

7:50 PM UPDATE: We’ve now heard from KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, who says it all started in White Center, when a “deputy spotted a stolen vehicle near SW 98 and 15 SW. The vehicle fled northbound. At 15th and Henderson the deputy’s car collided with a truck that was not involved in the pursuit. The deputy and the woman in the truck both had minor injuries. The 57 year old woman was taken to Harborview, the deputy went to Highline Hospital. The suspect vehicle continued northbound for a block or 2 and the suspects (2) fled. The female passenger was apprehended and we are still looking for the driver who is described as an Asian or Hispanic male, possibly in his teens. Our Major accident response unit is investigating the accident.” Here’s a wider view of the main scene:

9:10 PM UPDATE: The county investigators have finished their work at the scene and SW Henderson is open again. The stop sign on the northwest corner of 15th/Henderson was taken out, so a temporary one is in place for now.

UPDATE, 12:20 PM MONDAY: Just talked with Det. Mark Jamieson of SPD media relations, who will soon publish an update on this incident on SPD Blotter. He says police have not arrested anyone yet. The victim told police the attacker came up behind her as she walked east on SW Trenton after getting off a bus on Delridge and that he pulled her into an alley and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint before stealing her phone and taking off. She called 911 from a friend’s home; police rushed to the scene (as we noted at the time), including a K-9 team, and searched extensively but didn’t find the man. A few additional description details besides the ones in our original report: Mid-to-late 20s, dark complexion, medium height, possibly under the influence of drugs, and had a “foul body odor.” If you have any information, call detectives at 206-684-5575.

My car was broken into this morning at the Westcrest offleash dog park. I witnessed one of the suspects running away from my car, getting into the getaway car and driving away. I was walking up the lower hill with two friends and our dogs when I witnessed a suspicious-looking guy jogging away from my car. I immediately went to my car and saw that the window had been smashed. I definitely interrupted the burglary in process. The only things that were takes were an FM iPhone adapter and car charger.

My call to 911 was at 6:20 am, which was about 3-4 minutes after I witnessed him running from my car. The suspect is caucasian, early to mid 20s, tall (6′-ish) with sandy-blonde hair and a thin build. I’m less sure of what he was wearing but think it was jeans and a dark-colored sweatshirt.

There was a second person driving the car, but I did not see them at all. A woman at the dog park said she saw the car and occupants when she arrived at the park and that they were both caucasian males. The car is an older model red Japanese model (Honda Civic/Accord or Toyota Tercel) that has a black or gray-primed quarter panel over the driver’s side wheel. The SPD took prints and provided an incident # of 12-107322. If you see a car matching this description, please reports its location to the police immediately.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Highland Park’s Seamart convenience store will reopen at 16th/Holden Friday, with new property owners, more than a year after the former building and convenience store’s owner was foreclosed on (as reported here in December 2010), which led not only to the store’s closure but also to the shutdown of JoJo’s Fine Espresso and the relocation of Zippy’s Giant Burgers.

The new owners, partners Saejin Lee and Yungie Sun [above], say they saw a “unique” opportunity in the Highland Park business property. Lee’s family sold their previous Central District store on Jackson (Seven Star) to purchase here in West Seattle. They expect to attract both new and previous customers to their store, and to the new neighboring tenants, Athena’s Gyros (their plan to take over the ex-Zippy’s space was first reported here in mid-February), and an as-yet-to-be-determined coffee stand vendor.

Lee says the shelves are still being stocked, but his goal is to eventually bring in as many choices for his customers as possible. Lee mentioned that a new parking lot will be installed during the summer and possibly some new exterior lighting will be added.

Meanwhile, Athena’s owner Nick Parisi (with the help of artist Glenn Case, at left in photo below, with Parisi) installed his new sign last week.

Parisi says that, permitting process pending, he still hopes to open the sit-down gyro and gelato shop by mid-April, as the buildout continues which will transform the former teriyaki joint-then-hamburger mecca into a Greek-fare/gelato sit-down and Athena food truck commissary.

The Seamart owners, meantime, tell WSB that parties/vendors interested in the exterior space for an espresso stand are welcome to stop by the store for more details. The store hours are currently Sunday-Thursday 7-11 and Friday-Saturday 7-12 – and that starts tomorrow (Friday, March 30th), with the doors scheduled to reopen for the first time at 7 am.

***********

9:08 AM FRIDAY, EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out the store did NOT open first thing this morning; Deanie called to check and the owners are now planning to be there around noon.

Shown off at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting last night – HPAC’s new info-card, which you’ll see at events like the upcoming Gathering of Neighbors – a quick way to find out more about the group and the neighborhood. Also from last night’s meeting, a crime-trends briefing, a “greenways” discussion, and the Highland Park Huddle – read on for the toplines!

CRIME-TRENDS BRIEFING: Community Police Team Officer Ken Mazzuca filled in for Officer Jon Kiehn. In terms of property crimes – burglaries, car thefts, car prowls – he says the Highland Park rate is currently running about the same as West Seattle. He was asked a question that’s come up before at HPAC – whether the “Nickelsville” encampment had been matched to any uptick in crime. The answer this time was the same as last time: No. Followup questions focused on transients living in the nearby West Duwamish Greenbelt; Officer Mazzuca said the population fluctuates with the weather and is bound to increase along with the temperature, so he listened to what attendees said they had seen in terms of “hot spots” on the hillsides. Concern also was voiced about people riding dirt bikes on the hiking trails in the greenbelt, and he promised to look into that.

WEST SEATTLE GREENWAYS: The guest was Jake Vanderplas from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, who’s involved in the effort to get greenways – streets emphasizing non-motorized transportation – going in that part of West Seattle. He briefed the group on efforts to date, including the recent meeting with City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (WSB coverage here). Highland Park resident Craig Rankin, who introduced Jake, said he’s been talking with neighbors about possibilities in HP and near South Seattle Community College. HPAC will form a committee to check out which streets might be optimal as greenways.

HIGHLAND PARK HUDDLE: HPAC co-chairs Carolyn and Billy Stauffer are hoping to organize this as an informal gathering one weekend morning in September, to talk about how people see Highland Park evolving over the next 20 years or so. That way, the reasoning goes, once the city gets around to talking about neighborhood plans and other big-picture scenarios, HP already will have its thoughts gathered.

The Highland Park Action Committee usually meets the 4th Wednesday of the month at HP Improvement Club, 7 pm.