West Seattle Blog…

Looking ahead: Major West Seattle issues on the agenda all week

Lots going on this week. This is all on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar too, in case you lose track:

MONDAY
-City Council briefing on snowstorm response, next steps: 9:30 am, City Hall (live online or on TV)
-County Council briefing on snowstorm response, 9:30 am, County Courthouse (live online or on TV)
-Denny Middle School Site Redevelopment Design Team, 7 pm, Denny Library

TUESDAY
-“Scoping meeting” for proposed West Seattle jail site, Brockey Center at SSCC, 6:30 pm
-Community meeting re: Cooper Elementary “program closure,” Cooper Library, 7 pm
-Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting with transit and parking updates, 6:30 pm, Ginomai
-Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy
-Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, 7 pm, Admiral Church

WEDNESDAY
-2nd Delridge Skatepark meeting, 6 pm, Youngstown Arts Center
-34th District Democrats meeting and reorganization election, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy

THURSDAY
-Mayor’s “open house” promising one-on-one chats with citizens about snowstorm response, 6:30 pm, Southwest Community Center
-City/county-led public meeting about Seacrest dock changes to facilitate year-round Elliott Bay Water Taxi, 7 pm, Alki Community Center

Again, this is not EVERYTHING that’s happening, but those are the biggest events on the radar, so far. (Know of something major we somehow missed? Please let us know — thanks!)

Non-snow news: Date set for next West Seattle jail hearing

Before we kick off the evening snow coverage, a couple other West Seattle news items to share, starting with the date that’s just been set for the next official public hearing about the West Seattle site that’s one of six locations under consideration for a regional misdemeanor-offender jail. As announced last month, the Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way site (Google Street View above; this area was briefly famous months ago as the original “Nickelsville”) is still on the list, which expanded when Seattle’s potential jailbuilding partners, including Bellevue and Shoreline, nominated possible sites. Now each site will be the subject of a “scoping” meeting as part of the environmental-impact review, and the West Seattle meeting is set for 6 pm January 13 at South Seattle Community College’s Brockey Center – abundant details here. (If you need to catch up on the jail-site fight, six months of WSB coverage is archived here, newest to oldest.)

West Seattle jail-site fight: Downtown forum info, video online

Local government agencies are getting quicker all the time at posting important info online. Latest example – it only took a day for the comments from, and video of, last night’s downtown jail-site forum to make it onto the jail-site-search website. Not fast, but faster than most. Highland Park Action Committee had a delegation there, and you’ll see some of their comments in the transcribed materials. All the links to the info and video are here. (If you’re just catching up: The search for a new misdemeanor jail is now focused on six sites, with one in West Seattle at Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way, but since there was a public forum for that site last July, the new round only targets the sites just added to the list – last night’s gathering was about the site newly proposed next to the downtown jail, which neighborhood advocates say would be the best site IF a jail has to be built at all.)

Happening tonight: School Board, jail-site forum

Two quick reminders about events that aren’t happening IN West Seattle tonight, but have potential for major effects ON West Seattle – Seattle School Board, 6 pm, district HQ in Sodo, with members of the public speaking about the school-closure proposal as well as an update expected from the superintendent; downtown forum for the proposed King County Jail-adjacent site for a new regional misdemeanor-offender jail (one of six sites now on the list), with Highland Park reps expected to be there to speak in support of a downtown site (the West Seattle site that’s still on the list is in HP, West Marginal/Highland Park Way), 6-9 pm at City Hall downtown (more info on the new jail-site-search website). ADDED 4:15 PM: The Save Arbor Heights blog reminds us that since this is a regularly scheduled school-board meeting (unlike the closure-announcement meeting last week), you can watch it live on cable TV: Channel 26. We will be at the meeting to cover it in person and will post periodic updates, but since it’s being broadcast live, we don’t plan to liveblog it like last week.

Thanksgiving Eve miscellany before you tune out for the holiday

In no particular order, just various loose ends and other items we wanted to mention:

JAIL-SITES FIGHT: One thing we didn’t mention after Monday night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting — HPAC is urging a big turnout at next Wednesday’s (12/3) City Hall hearing about the newly proposed downtown site for a new jail — they had been advocating downtown siting, and feel their research on the issue has helped put this site on the list (which still includes one West Seattle site, Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way). They want to show strength in numbers to back the potential downtown site. Doors open 6 pm Wednesday (program starts 6:30), City Hall downtown.

BIKE SHOP MOVE COMPLETE: We first reported three months ago that Aaron’s Bicycle Repair was moving into the now-former Morgan Junction state liquor store space. The move is complete and owner Aaron Goss sent this link with photos taken as the renovation work proceeded (and was finished).

TWO NOTABLE NEW SEVEN-FIGURE REAL-ESTATE LISTINGS: The multiplex at 2810 Alki SW, just east of the Alki Urban Market/All the Best Pet Care/Cactus building, is up for sale, $1,850,000. Last year, there was a development proposal for this site to be the new home of Pegasus Pizza, which of course has since gone into the ex-Coyotes on Alki (etc.) space further east. Also up for sale, a 9-unit apartment building on Ferry SW in North Admiral, $1,250,000 (here’s that listing).

WEST SEATTLEITES FEATURED IN TV HEALTH REPORT: Dr. Tami Meraglia and Seattle Civic Dance Theatre’s Kim Dinsmoor are in this story examining concerns about the body-care-product ingredients called parabens.

WSB is 24/7/365 (this year, 366) so we’ll still be here on Thanksgiving Day, but not planning to publish as many items as usual (unless of course major news happens). First up, the “final” coffee/supermarket hours list in the early am (the info’s already on the Holiday Happenings page).

Happening this week: Non-holiday highlights

TONIGHT: Highland Park Action Committee meets for the first time since the new list of potential misdemeanor-jail sites was announced last Thursday (WSB coverage here), with the Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way site still on the list (though now it’s one of six possible locations). But that’s far from all that HPAC is up to; read this WSB Forums post for reasons why you should join in. 7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club building (11th/Holden; here’s a map).

TOMORROW: Seattle Public Schools‘ preliminary list of proposed school closures will go public. We know for sure that they will be presented and discussed in detail at a School Board workshop tomorrow night (6 pm, district HQ: here’s a map) – but we’re still awaiting final word on whether any sort of media briefing will be held to make the list public earlier in the day. The chances at least one West Seattle school will be on the list are considered to be fairly high for a variety of reasons including “excess capacity” and building age/condition (here’s our most recent coverage, including dates for “workshops” to talk about the closures). The last round of building closures less than 2 years ago led to the shutdown of Fairmount Park Elementary.

WEDNESDAY: The closures – whichever schools are on the list – are likely to be a major topic as West Seattle’s school-board rep Steve Sundquist has his monthly “coffee hour,” open for anyone to drop in and discuss district/education issues, 9 am at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar in The Junction. (Added later Monday: We have word he also plans an extra community availability at the Delridge Library from 3-5 pm Saturday 12/6.)

As for the holiday – you’ll find lots of new information and events added to our Holiday Happenings page — including info we’ve compiled so far about what happens on Thanksgiving, from free morning workouts to grocery store/coffee shop hours – that info will be complete by tomorrow but we’re adding it to the list as we get it.

New list of jail sites – and one West Seattle site is still on it

We’re in the briefing room next to the mayor’s office at City Hall downtown. A media briefing with the next steps on the jail-site search process is about to begin – and we’ve just been given a list of the six sites that are now under consideration, including sites that other cities partnering with Seattle have brought to the process. The Myers Way South site in southeastern West Seattle is OFF the list, but the Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way site (Google Street View imagery above; here’s a conventional map) is still ON the list, along with two other Seattle sites (King County Jail Annex at 5th/Jefferson, and 1600 W. Armory Way), one in Bellevue, one in Shoreline, and one in “unincorporated King County” (13225 NE 126th). More after the briefing. Next steps include a series of public forums next month — none of which is set for West Seattle, though there will be a “scoping” meeting at South Seattle Community College January 13th as part of the environmental-review process. Also, a new website is mentioned in pre-briefing material: www.necmunicipaljail.org (though it’s not up as of this writing – the jail-process communications team says it should be up within the hour) — and the one-sheet given to the media says “no decisions will be made until 2010.” 10:23 AM UPDATE: The public forums, it’s been explained, are for the newly identified sites – West Seattle and Interbay already had forums. The aforementioned website has just gone live, and it includes this link to the official news release from today’s briefing. Seattle spokesperson Catherine Cornwall, who has led this briefing, says the studies explaining why the Myers Way site is off the table and Marginal/Highland still on, are on the new website (we will search out direct links shortly). One of the big reasons why Myers is off the list, Cornwall added, is a concern about wetlands in the area. Here’s our video clip with her explanation:

ADDED 12:45 PM: Just in – a statement from King County Councilmember Dow Constantine.

“I’m very pleased with today’s announcement. The Myers Way site has been removed from the list, in part because of the environmental issues – issues which I also cited in my June 2 letter to Mayor Nickels. I wish the Highland Park Way site was not still on the list. Instead of a Seattle-only effort, this is now a regional process with King County and suburban cities having a seat at the table. The expanded site list now includes possible locations across the region. I am particularly happy to see promising sites on the Eastside, and in Downtown Seattle adjacent to our existing jail.”

ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: The city’s jail-site communications team calls our attention to the Resources page on the new jail-info website, if you’re looking for various studies and reviews, including analysis of why the Myers Way site was taken off the list, while the Highland Park Way/Marginal Way site is still under consideration.

West Seattle jail-site fight: Next chance to comment

Both the city and county are in the throes of budget discussions and decisions, and the coming week is pivotal. For those interested in the question of whether the city will build a new jail for misdemeanor offenders — potentially, on one of two southeast West Seattle sites that are on the current “final four” list — there’s word of a budget-related comment opportunity, from Danina Garcia of Real Change, which has been working with jail opponents citywide:

On Monday the city council will have a series of budget meetings to discuss and vote on the “green sheets” before coming to a final budget decision. One of the things before the council is a budget proviso. This proviso would put a hold on 3 million of the 4.5 the mayor requested to move forward on the jail in 2009. This 3 million could not be spent until a panel, which would include people from outside the government, investigated and reported back on whether and how a new jail could be avoided completely, while increasing public safety and public order, if investments were made into preemptive social services, pre-arrest diversion programs and pre-booking programs. There will be a brief public comment period available before the start of business at 9:30 am Monday morning in City Council chambers.

The budget decisions are pretty much all going to be made on Monday; the final vote by the budget committee and then by the full council later in the week are procedural and largely formalities. So this is a prime opportunity to put a stop on expenditures that we don’t need and that will damage neighborhoods and lives.

If you can’t attend the council meeting, there are multiple ways to comment on this issue (or any other) – you’ll find all the info and links you need, by going to the City Council’s main webpage.

Anti-jail ballot initiative? Citywide jail-site-fight strategy session

(sign on kiosk in South Delridge Triangle area)
Dorsol Plants, chair of the Highland Park Action Committee — which not only has led the fight against two proposed city-jail sites in HP, but also is involved in a citywide effort to make the case that a new jail’s not needed at all — forwards word of a strategy session tomorrow, and anyone interested is invited: It’s being led by Real Change, and the invitation notes that RC “continues to organize around the principles that a new jail is an expensive, unnecessary, counterproductive and inhumane investment for Seattle to make. The budget process is ending. The next step being considered for this campaign is the possibility of launching an initiative against the jail to go on the ballot next November.” That’s part of the strategy that will be discussed 5:30-7:30 pm tomorrow (Monday 11/10) in Hall 6 of the Seattle Labor Temple in Belltown (2800 1st Ave.; here’s a map). The invite adds: “This will be a time for leaders from the service providers, advocacy groups, and neighborhood organizations opposed to or concerned by a new jail to come together and strategize.”

Highland Park Action Committee recap: Halloween; jail; “DV 101″

Big week for the Highland Park Action Committee – it’s sponsoring Highland Park Neighborhood Halloween on Friday night, with the Highland Park Improvement Club building as headquarters for family-geared fun. But first, tonight it was the regular monthly meeting, including a briefing on recognizing domestic violence and helping its victims, and the last-minute arrival of HPAC’s chair, fresh out of the City Council‘s budget hearing, with news about the ongoing fight against the potential construction of a city jail in West Seattle — read on for details: Click to read the rest of Highland Park Action Committee recap: Halloween; jail; “DV 101″…

Pigeon Point Council: News you can use, wherever you live

The news from tonight’s Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meeting wasn’t just about/for Pigeon Point. For starters – a plaintive reminder, especially apropos on a rainy night early enough in fall that the leaves are still not all off the trees – KEEP YOUR DRAINS CLEAR! You want them to look more like this:

Even if a clogged drain doesn’t cause trouble for your home or street – it can divert water somewhere that trouble WILL be caused. Meantime, other topics at PPNC tonight included a jail-site update, Delridge Community Center/skatepark-project updates, Cooper Elementary School update, library funding, and the reason why PPNC suddenly needs a new leader – all ahead: Click to read the rest of Pigeon Point Council: News you can use, wherever you live…

Highland Park tonight: Crime report; “Nickelsville” vote; more

Before we get to the “Nickelsville” discussion at tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting – which ended in a way you might not have expected – the rest of the agenda, including a “thank you” to a popular policeman:

That’s HPAC chair Dorsol Plants presenting a certificate of appreciation to Southwest Precinct Community Police Team officer Adonis Topacio. CPT officers (read about them here) are each assigned to proactively work a certain area of the Southwest Precinct’s region, and Officer Topacio’s includes Highland Park, so he’s often at HPAC meetings to present updates (like this one) and listen to concerns. Tonight, he offered some crime stats from the past month and a half in the Highland Park area: Four auto thefts, 13 car prowls, 15 burglaries. Overall, though, he said it had been a relatively quiet summer, but added that police are working to deal with the recent wave of gang graffiti (WSB report here). Also on the agenda tonight, two reps from the White Center Community Development Association with a briefing on what’s going on with their organization – we’ll be writing up those details for partner site White Center Now and will link back here when that’s up. No major updates on the jail-sites issue, meantime, as the process is idling somewhat while Seattle awaits its potential partners to offer more suggested sites; Dan Mullins is trying to organize more Duwamish-corridor business owners to get involved with opposition to the WS sites and said a meeting with at least two City Council members is planned later this fall. Plants warned tonight’s attendees that if HPAC participation (about 20 people were on hand tonight) dwindles out of complacency, it raises the chances unpopular projects like this will turn up in the area. But the latest development at the potential jail site closest to Highland Park, “Nickelsville,” drew what some might consider a surprising reaction – read on to see why: Click to read the rest of Highland Park tonight: Crime report; “Nickelsville” vote; more…

Jail-sites fight: 1 West Seattle site among “most likely” 2?

(Thursday night photo courtesy MagnoliaVoice.com)
MagnoliaVoice.com covered last night’s community meeting focusing on the Interbay location that’s among the city’s current “final four” in the search for where to build a jail for misdemeanor offenders; the other three sites, as you probably know, include two in southeastern West Seattle. According to our friends at Magnolia Voice, one of those sites, the one on Myers Way (map), was mentioned by City Councilmember Tim Burgess as one of the two most likely sites (along with the Interbay location, which he reportedly had singled out in July). We have a request for comment out to Councilmember Burgess (who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee); meantime, you can read the MagnoliaVoice.com story about last night’s meeting here. SATURDAY MIDDAY UPDATE: Councilmember Burgess has posted a comment on the White Center Now version of this post saying that he was referring to the “First Avenue South Bridge” site, not the Myers Way South site. The city has not labeled any site as “First Avenue South Bridge” but the West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way SW site is certainly closest to the bridge; we have a note out to Councilmember Burgess to further clarify (he had not responded to the request for comment that we mentioned yesterday, except to ask for the Magnolia Voice link, which we promptly provided). Will let you know what we find out. UPDATED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Councilmember Burgess’ reply:

Correct, the West Marginal site which is about 1.5 blocks off the southwest corner of the bridge. The site is partially owned by the city and partially owned by WSDOT which used it as a staging location when the bridge was repaired a few years back. I refer to it as the First Avenue South Bridge site because that helps people understand the geographic location better than the intersection.

Jail-sites fight FYI: Interbay meeting tomorrow

As mentioned in our report on the last Highland Park Action Committee meeting, the West Seattle fight against two proposed WS city-jail sites is in a bit of a lull now, awaiting the next official stage of the city’s process. However, those closely watching what’s happening in the areas around all of the “final four” sites might be interested to know, there’s a public meeting tomorrow night in Magnolia, focused on the proposed Interbay site, with at least one city councilmember expected to attend.