FIRST NOTE: That photo shows the boarded-up, ramshackle house at 4801 23rd SW (map), on the day that then-North Delridge Neighborhood Council leader Mike Dady led a tour of neighbors, media, and city officials, visiting several neglected-to-say-the-least properties, as a plea for help with the trouble such “problem properties” have caused. 11 months have passed since the tour (WSB coverage here); Mike just sent word that a demolition permit’s been issued for 4801 23rd SW (here’s the city infopage). At least one other property visited that day (4117 Delridge) has already been torn down.

SECOND NOTE: A banner’s up (no photo yet, sorry) on the new two-story building that went up adjacent to Olympia Pizza on Delridge (map). It promises Vietnamese soup and sandwiches, coming soon. Haven’t found any other info so far but will keep checking.

Many Seattle Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed on Friday, March 12, and Monday, March 15, for a furlough day.

City of Seattle employees are taking 10 days off without pay in 2010 to help fill the budget gap. Seattle Parks and Recreation has worked hard to schedule furlough days in a way that has the smallest possible impact on customers, and that provides as much coverage as possible.

These facilities and services are closed on Friday, March 12

* Grounds maintenance

* Community centers (except child care and late night programs, which will still operate).

* Swimming pools

* Environmental Learning Centers

* Lifelong Recreation (except Food and Fitness programs, which will still operate)

* Business Service Center

These facilities and services are closed on Monday, March 15:

* Administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration)

* Planning and Development Division

* Magnuson Park office

These facilities will operate normally:

* Golf courses will operate as usual.

* The Seattle Aquarium will assign furloughs individually to ensure that its 24-hour animal care responsibilities are met and that it stays open to the public

Though several notes mentioned this, the details were sent by Christie:

… I wanted to let you know and West Seattle Blog readers that there were 2 (burglary) attempts on my street, 12th and Trenton (map). The first attempt was Monday night at 5 pm – they tried to kick in my neighbor’s door, they were not successful and then my neighbor came home and he think they heard him and ran – nothing taken but windows were broken. Then tonight they were successful and broke in my other neighbor’s house by kicking in the front door sometime between 1pm and 4:30pm – the neighbors have a 2 week old baby so of course they are freaked out – the robbers took the flat screen TV, their 2 computers, some jewelry – didn’t take the camera or the expensive ring right in plain sight – our block got together (last) night and have decided it is time to do more than just participate in the Night Out celebrations.

For more information on forming Block Watches, here’s the Crime Prevention page on the Southwest Precinct website.

Since 1910, the ideals of Scouting have guided young men to perform “service to others and to the community.” Responding to the plight of America’s poor and hungry is a traditional Scouting “good turn.” During World War I, Boy Scouts planted vegetable gardens to provide food for the hungry. President Roosevelt called on Scouts to collect food for the needy during the Great Depression. Planting Victory Gardens were the Scouting “good turns” organized during World War II.

Today, Boy Scouts continue their Good Turn efforts in community stewardship through Scouting for Food. Scouts from West Seattle will walk our neighborhoods delivering door hangers on Saturday, March 13. The following Saturday, March 20, Scouts will follow-up to collect non-perishable food item donations and deliver them to the West Seattle Food Bank. Emphasis is on food most needed for nutrition such as peanut butter, baby formula, packaged meals and canned goods, especially tuna, soups, stews, meats, fruits and vegetables.

Please help support the hungry in our community. Watch for a door hanger on your door and get your donations out early on March 20th, so you can join our Scouts in “Doing a Good Turn Daily.”

Food Items Needed for Pickup Sat March 20
Canned meats – Canned vegetables – Boxed cereal – Canned milk – Canned tuna fish – Baby formula – Instant potatoes – Macaroni – Peanut butter in jars – Canned soup (chunky style) – Canned fruit – Beef stew – Pasta – Other non-perishable foods

(The next door-to-door food drive we know about after this one is the “Stamp Out Hunger” postal carriers’ drive, this year on May 8, same day as West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!)

GET BACK TO WORK! Creating jobs — that’s what the 34th District Democrats are inviting a panel of experts to talk about at tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). See the agenda here.

“RUNNING THE SAHARA”: Tonight’s the big screening at Admiral Theater – and local fitness-related businesses like the forthcoming West Seattle Runner (here’s their Facebook page) and Stroller Strides are inviting friends and clients to come see the documentary with them. Whether you go with a group or alone, you have till this afternoon to buy a ticket online for $25, which is $10 less for the door price (everyone gets a DVD of the movie).

WHEAT-FREE AND GLUTEN-FREE TREATS: Today’s the day that Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) starts featuring wheat-free and gluten-free treats by two specialty bakeries, and you can either order some for pickup or buy single-serving items. To kick it off, Flying Apron will be at Hotwire for tastings starting at 8 am, and Wheatless in Seattle will be there around 11.

FREE MARTIAL-ARTS CLASS: Seattle Integrated Martial Arts (WSB sponsor) in The Junction is hosting a “Women’s Intro to Muay Thai Kickboxing” class 7:15-8:15 tonight, free.

Lots of updates at Tuesday night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting – and some new business too – including the plan for a crime-prevention event:

CRIME PREVENTION: ANA is working with Seattle Police to present a crime-prevention seminar on Tuesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Hiawatha Community Center. Discussion at the seminar will center on ideas to curb crime in the area, as well as tips on creation and improvement of “Block Watch” programs.

CONCERT SERIES UPDATE: Plans for the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series continue in earnest. Since WSB published ANA’s call for interested musicians, more than 40 acts have stepped up to express interest. Sponsors are signing up too; PCC (also a WSB sponsor) has again signed on as a primary sponsor of the live-music series.

PARK ACQUISITION: The group discussed potentially drafting a letter of support to add to an application for Parks and Green Spaces Levy money to buy property at 1521 Sunset Avenue to be preserved as open space (Dennis Ross had briefed ANA on the application at the previous meeting).

LAFAYETTE PLAYGROUND UPDATE: Janine Bostock, who chairs the steering committee working on improvements to the Lafayette Elementary School playground, introduced herself to the association. Renovations on the playground are currently targeted to begin next summer. They intend to replace the playground “big toy” in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; as it stands, there are kids who are unable to play on the current, old equipment. Additionally, there are plans to add greenery to the space, particularly in the area from the basketball courts south to the fences.

The group is holding a ski-and-sports equipment swap to help raise funds for the projects. On Sunday, April 25, there will be an all-day sale of collected equipment in the Lafayette school cafeteria. There are also plans to hold an outdoor movie night and barbecue at the playground to bring the community together at the site. Mid-to-late August is being targeted, with no firm plans yet in place.

WESTSIDE BABY AND WEST SEATTLE FOOD BANK: Reps from these two nonprofits talked about some of their upcoming plans. WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland said planning is under way for this year’s Stuff the Bus diaper drive; WS Food Bank past board president Pete Spalding said one simple way to help the food bank is to save your receipts from grocery shopping at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) and West Seattle Thriftway, both of which donate 1% of the pre-tax total on collected receipts back to the food bank.

Admiral Neighborhood Association meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7 pm, at Admiral Congregational Church.

(cameraphone photo added 10:56 pm)
10:49 PM: 16th SW is closed between Webster and Myrtle (map) because of a crash – at the scene, we’re seeing one badly damaged car that hit a tree on the east side of 16th. The team that investigates serious crashes appears to be arriving, so it may be closed a while, and we’re seeing buses being re-routed. Police at the scene aren’t saying anything so far about the fate of the person/s who were in the car. 11:16 PM: SPD Media Unit’s Det. Mark Jamieson confirms it’s a fatal crash, but won’t have other details until the Traffic Collision Investigation Unit – which goes out to major crash scenes – finishes its work in the hours to come. 11:50 PM: Thanks by the way to Cheri for the tip on this, and also thanks to Katie for the research assist in looking this up – it appears this is the first deadly West Seattle crash since this one on The Bridge last August.

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 1:05 am)
ADDED 10:20 AM: There’s a short item on SPD Blotter this morning about the crash, but the only new information is that the driver was male, and was northbound on 16th SW before hitting a pole and then the tree. His ID would have to be made public by the county Medical Examiner, which isn’t likely to happen before mid-afternoon.

More than 100 people filled, and spilled out from, tonight’s South Park Neighborhood Association meeting, facing a county rep who came to confirm the South Park Bridge – their “lifeline,” many called it – is virtually certain to close June 30. (The time is even set – 7 pm.)

The fury: “If this was the University or Fremont or Montlake Bridge … would you be doing this? You come here so casually to tell us you’re closing it!”

The fear: “If you shut that bridge, you’re going to be cutting my arm off, and I’m going to bleed to death.”

The frustration: “It’s very clear that you all know what’s at stake. I know what’s at stake. The captain of the port knows what’s at stake. But somehow that voice, that story has not penetrated the powers-that-be that make the decision (regarding funding).”

The fighting spirit: “Who do we need to contact NOW to get the money we need for the bridge? We can’t undo the last 13 or 40 years, but we need to get the money NOW.”

The voice of frustration was that of Gael Tarleton, Seattle Port Commissioner, the only elected official present at the meeting, though representatives were there on behalf of King County Executive Dow Constantine, County Councilmember Jan Drago, and City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw and Mike O’Brien. Tarleton was not a scheduled speaker, but finally spoke up from the sidelines, where she was one of several dozen standing against the walls when the South Park Neighborhood Center’s chairs were all gone.

She promised to help make sure South Park residents’ and businesses’ stories are heard – and she suggested the county was not blameless in the failure to secure replacement funding:

But at the front of the room for most of the meeting, listening and answering — matter-of-factly and sometimes sympathetically — was the county official who led the briefing, King County Department of Transportation Road Services Division director Linda Dougherty (left, with SPNA president Dagmar Cronn and King County Executive Dow Constantine’s transportation expert Chris Arkills in background): “We are at a point now where we have run out of time.”

She recapped the federal government’s rejection of the county’s request for a grant that would have paid for about 80% of the bridge replacement’s $127 million price tag, in a process that saw the City of Seattle’s so-called “Mercer Mess” project get $30 million. That, too, brought some bitterness from attendees – while Dougherty tried to say, “We weren’t competing against (that project), ” one woman in the audience exploded, “You WERE competing against Mercer!”

The theme of perceived neglect and disrespect for South Park resurfaced multiple times as attendees spoke out or asked questions. There also was some future hope, as Dougherty and others spoke of 11th-hour realizations by potential partners – the City of Seattle, among others – that the closure of the South Park Bridge, which carries 20,000 vehicles a day (at least a fourth of them trucks), will be a very big deal.

It’s imperative for the area’s survival for them to realize it, said many. “You CAN’T close that bridge!” one attendee insisted. “You close that bridge, and every business on 14th (Avenue South) will close.” Others murmured and nodded agreement.

But, it was suggested, those who live and work in the area can push the process forward too – by speaking out more forcefully. Bagshaw’s representative noted that her boss’s South Park Bridge e-mail folder has only five messages – only five people had written to her to express concern.

Before the discussion of action, though, came the pleas to clarify confusion: Why hasn’t the funding been found by now? And, why is the bridge suddenly too dangerous to keep open?

For the former question, Dougherty went back over everything she said she’d been through in her 12 years with the county. “What hasn’t helped is that the City of Seattle has in the past said, the ’sliver by the river’ (of unincorporated land including The Bridge) is King County and that’s your problem.” She also pointed out that the county actually only owns the south half of the South Park Bridge; Tukwila owns the other half but, she suggested, doesn’t care a lot either.

And the regional ballot measure that was rejected a few years ago didn’t help, it was explained – that one contained money for a new South Park Bridge. And now, said Dougherty, “For any one local government to fund this bridge, it’s too big, it’s too costly, it really does require partners, grants … none of the cities has come forward to say ‘we’d like to help you, how big of a check do you need?’”

Port Commissioner Tarleton jumped in from the sidelines at that point, describing herself as “an expert” in proposals to the federal government.

“The fact so many (South Park funding proposals) have failed is a reflection on the region’s approach to the proposal. Persistent losing is a sign of not effectively competing.” That drew applause.

She said she would help put together “as effective a proposal as we can” for more than the $18 million that Dougherty had said the county hoped to receive from a federal jobs package, hopefully to start cobbling together the full sum.

For now, though, as an attendee pointed out: “The bridge is scheduled to close. It’s done. The bridge is going to close! Now, who is going to spearhead the committee to raise the money to build a new bridge? Who’s in charge?”

Arkills said his boss, County Executive Constantine, is ultimately responsible and has been fighting for funding for years – again, an unsuccessful fight. But, he too said, “People are starting to be motivated to help … As long as something’s in the future, people don’t pay attention, but now that the South Park Bridge is literally on the verge of closing, people are starting to pay attention.”

They also were paying attention tonight to the question of why, though its deteriorating condition has been known for years, a shutdown is suddenly looming.

“What changed?” asked one man. “We were here three months ago, presented with the new design, told it would be built in parallel, maybe one month total downtime … What changed?”

Dougherty fell on her sword there, saying there was “a breakdown in communications in our division .. we told the (previous King County Executive’s administration) last summer, it was time to close The Bridge, but “we got a little sideways in our communication internally.”

“Just a little?” muttered one man.

Dougherty reiterated that a study being done right now is not likely, in her view, to reveal that the bridge could stay open longer; if anything, she said, it might suggest the bridge is so unsafe, it should be shut down sooner. She explained the rationale for the June 30th date – “Part assessing safety, part assessing operational capability … School buses use the bridge, and we don’t want to interrupt the school season. But – once the weather gets hot, we have a problem with the bridge’s metal leaves expanding in the heat; the bridge can get stuck closed, or we can’t get it down properly … Every summer we’ve gone out during a hot spell and cut off with an acetylene torch the interlocking teeth. We’re down to the gum lines. There’s nothing left to cut.”

Sighed one woman in the crowd, “I’m seriously going to buy a canoe.” People near her laughed. She said, “You laugh?”

Dougherty said they’re planning for how those 20,000 vehicles will be dealt with, but there’s nothing to announce yet. They do know that once the bridge is closed, its “leaves” will have to be kept open so that boats can pass, until they can be removed – a process that’ll cost about $3 million. Then the rest of the demolition will follow, though not necessarily immediately, according to one county timetable.

So what can concerned citizens do now, besides have meetings (another one led by grass-roots activists is scheduled for 6 pm tonight, South Park Community Center). Said Dougherty: “If you are in Seattle, write letters to your mayor and City Council, that would be very helpful. Also write to your state contingent including the govenror – the state has NOT put any money into the bridge-replacement project.”

Added Arkills: “You have to turn up the pressure on the people atop the food chain – the governor, the Speaker of the House … we’re talking about replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct for billions, the 520 bridge for even more billions, the South Park Bridge is almost a rounding error in all that – put pressure on the state.”

Meantime, the clock ticks to June 30. 7 pm, to be exact.

“How will we survive this?” one man asked mid-meeting. “Anyone who can answer that, you have my support.”

The county insists it’s making the plans now.

LEARN FROM THE CHAMPS: That photo shows the triumphant Seattle Lutheran High School Men’s Varsity Baseball Team (2009 Tri-District Tournament Champions) from last year – and this weekend, they’re hosting a baseball clinic for Baseball Players 5-10 years old, March 13-14. You can find out more at the SLHS website.

WEST SEATTLE/FAUNTLEROY YMCA SPORTS SIGN-UPS: Next round of sign-ups start this Thursday at the Y (WSB sponsor). They’re registering for Youth T-ball/Baseball and Adult Co-ed Softball – go to the Y website to find out more; they’re also looking for coaches – e-mail Matt at mschlede@seattleymca.org if you’re interested.

BASKETBALL TRYOUTS: As previously announced on partner site White Center Now, this is the first of two nights for 4th through 8th grade basketball players to try out for teams at the Salvation Army Community Center in WC. If you missed tonight’s sessions, you’ve got another chance on Thursday – full details on WCN.

Galen at West Seattle Nursery says they accidentally left a cart like that one outside the gate last night – and this morning, it was gone. “We know it’s our fault for leaving it out, but we would really appreciate it if anyone sees it around town and recognizes it to let us know. Or, if whoever took it would kindly bring it back, we would be eternally grateful – absolutely no questions asked.” (The nursery’s at California/Brandon – map – 935-9276 – and even now on Twitter, @wsnursery.)

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