West Seattle Crime Watch: Thieves hit Nature Consortium
We were working on this story before the Fairmount School break-in happened – now that that incident is over, we need to let you know about this:
First the American Legion hall was burglarized – then the Senior Center of West Seattle was broken into and vandalized – now, crooks have hit the Nature Consortium, a WS nonprofit whose major mission is marshaling volunteers to help restore the West Duwamish Greenbelt. This comes from the NC’s newsletter, which arrived in the WSB inbox late today:
We are sad to report that our Restoration Project storage container was vandalized last week and all of the tools stolen. The thieves broke in by damaging the padlock and hasp and emptied out all of the container’s contents. We lost a multitude of tools used for large work parties, including pruners, machetes, a brush cutter, a chainsaw, extra blades, and a pop-up tent used for shelter and sign-in purposes. We calculated the loss to be $1,324.30 worth of materials. The Restoration team is currently working to secure the container and to replace the equipment. If you would like to help us replace these items, donate here.
We followed up with Nature Consortium executive director Nancy Whitlock, who confirms the storage container is the structure that the group maintains along the West Duwamish Greenbelt trail often used for their monthly hikes.
Admiral Neighborhood Association: New concert series revealed
We’re at the Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, where Katy Walum has just discussed plans for a new summer concert series – six Thursday nights outside at Hiawatha Community Center in July and August – and she’s starting to look for music acts, “classy” like jazz and folk, as well as seeking businesses to sponsor the series – contact her at katy.walum@gmail.com. More shortly, including what ANA attendees heard from Councilmember Sally Clark.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Break-in, arrests at closed school
(thanks to Stephanie for the photo)
Dorcas sent first word of major police activity near Fairmount Playfield (map), and then Stephanie provided a the follow-up report (also confirmed via scanner) that an apparent break-in at closed (though opening soon for summer school) Fairmount Park Elementary is involved, and arrests are reported. We’re on the way to find out more in person. UPDATE: On site, we’ve counted nine cruisers and at least one Seattle Public Schools vehicle – good area to avoid till things settle down.
From the scanner, sounds like four suspects are in custody and one more is being sought. 5:50 PM UPDATE: Two more suspects in custody, per both the scanner and what we’re seeing on scene. Officers are still checking inside the school for more. We’re told at the scene that an alarm was tripped, leading to the successful response.
8:17 PM UPDATE: SPDBlotter has a little more information – all six suspects are described as male, 2 “young adults” and 4 “juveniles.” Looks like no property damage in the building, the report says.
Heads up: Helicopter over southeast West Seattle tomorrow
Since nothing fills our inbox as fast as a more-than-fleeting helicopter sighting over West Seattle, we wanted to take the chance to give you ADVANCE WARNING about helicopter activity that’s planned tomorrow and may be visible from southeast West Seattle and White Center/Top Hat. The announcement comes from the Seattle Fire Department, about training tomorrow at 9401 Myers Way S (map here; Google Street View image below):
View Larger Map
The Seattle Fire Department and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office will conduct helicopter emergency operations training at the City of Seattle Joint Training Facility [9401 Myers Way S; map] on Wednesday, April 15. The drill will prepare both agencies to work together in the event of a regional disaster.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office UH-1H Bell “Huey” Helicopter is equipped with a rescue hoist, which will be used to practice lowering and raising teams of four firefighters onto and off of the roof of a training building. They will also test their skills at lowering equipment onto the roof. The techniques practiced in the drill will help prepare both agencies for special rescue operations including fires in high rise buildings, emergencies aboard ships or other hard-to reach locations and for delivering equipment and resources in the event of a major earthquake or other natural disaster.
Time frame, you ask? Early afternoon in particular, since the media’s been invited to photograph this around 1:30 tomorrow. P.S. Just heard on the Mariners broadcast that this Saturday is the Salute to Armed Forces, with pregame activity starting around 5:30 pm – a flyover is mentioned in the promotional blurbs, and those tend to have West Seattle in the flight path to Safeco – last year, we briefly caught the choppers on video.
The Kenney saves Seaview: “We heard what the community said”
Looks like whatever form The Kenney‘s $150 million redevelopment project ultimately takes, some form of that familiar view (photographed this afternoon from SW Myrtle, alongside Gatewood Elementary) will live on. Original plans for the project — as first reported here last August — called for demolishing the century-old, cupola-topped building. Community members and Southwest Design Review Board reps alike had called for The Kenney to find a way to save it — and the biggest glimmer of hope, as we reported last week, came in the announcement of the upcoming Morgan Community Association/Fauntleroy Community Association neighborhood meeting to update The Kenney’s project: The groups had been told a way had been found to move it up to the Fauntleroy/Myrtle corner. That’s now confirmed and explained by Kenney CEO Kevin McFeely, who tells WSB that the next round of “early design” for the project will include ONLY options that save The Seaview: “Basically, it’s feasible to move it to a separate spot on the campus. A company came out to give us a bid. (The new plans are) a pretty significant departure from our last (Design Review) go-round, so we’re bringing another set of drawings, and (MoCA and FCA) offered to have a community meeting where people could come give their comments, vent a bit, share thoughts and concerns. … What we heard at (all previous meetings) was, please figure out a way to save this building. The other main concern was the massing on the perimeter, and whether there’s anything we could do to mitigate that … (moving the Seaview building) would give us the opportunity to do that by putting more of the buildings in the ‘bowl’ in the center. We heard what the community said, we heard what the board said, we hope they’ll be very happy with (the new proposal).” Your first chance to see it will be the community meeting at 7:30 pm May 4 at Fauntleroy Church; then the Design Review Board meeting is at 6:30 pm May 14, location TBA. (One more Kenney note – Its skilled-nursing facility has just received a 5-star rating in a national review; read about it here.)
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: West Seattle’s Mural Apartments
This is the first of the current wave of Junction megaprojects to be finished — just one month from now, residents will start moving in, and its storefronts will start to open. Today, as WSB welcomes Mural Apartments (4727 42nd SW; map; ) as a sponsor, we have photos and information to bring you from a tour we joined last Friday, even as crews put the finishing touches on residential and retail – you are welcome to book a tour too (935-0676). Here’s a sneak peek inside one of the model units they’re showing now:
Read on to see what else we saw, and found out, including new information about Mural‘s ground-floor businesses:Read More
West Seattle projects in first wave of approved Parks Levy spending
The City Council Parks Committee meeting that’s under way now included a major milestone: Approval for the first spending in connection with 
the Parks Levy approved by voters last fall – more than $24 million in all. This includes some West Seattle projects, such as the start of design work for the extra park space that will be created on the new “lid” of West Seattle Reservoir in Westcrest Park, $1 million in renovations for the Camp Long Lodge (left), $3 million for Delridge Playfield artificial turf, and $170,000 for Fairmount Playfield renovations including play-equipment replacement. The full list of projects can be found in the official legislation approved by the committee this morning (which goes to the full Council next week). Earlier in this morning’s meeting, the committee — chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – listened to a Parks Department presentation addressing concerns about artificial turf on Seattle playfields (including 12 existing installations as well as the aforementioned Delridge plan); Parks staffers noted that the city’s preferred supplier provides a product with no lead, while adding that only one city playfield has turf with lead (Genesee, in southeast Seattle), and said the advantages of artificial turf include year-round usability and lower maintenance costs.
Get your garage sale on: Two this weekend (and then, WSCGSD)
As registration rolls on for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (coming up Saturday 5/9 – be part of The Big Map and regional promotion! – get in on the fun at westseattlegaragesale.com, 11 days left to register), we just got word of another big church sale, starting this Friday, and they’re still looking for donations: St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (next to West Seattle High School) has its rummage sale this Friday-Saturday, April 17-18, and again the following Friday-Saturday, 4/24-4/25, 9 am-3 pm all four days. Got something to donate? Call the church at 937-4545. (This Saturday — one day only — also features a big sale and car wash at Alki Community Center; call ACC at 684-7430 for the scoop.) Never mind the wintry weather (sunbreak as we type, actually) – it’s time for spring cleaning – and sale season!
West Seattle Helpline’s relaunched Clothesline almost ready to go
At right, that’s West Seattle Helpline executive director Anna Fern marshaling volunteers this morning at Hillcrest Presbyterian Church in Arbor Heights, as they sort and arrange donated clothes in preparation for the reopening of Helpline’s clothing bank, Clothesline, this Friday. Local churches (including Holy Rosary, home parish to some of the volunteers helping this morning) and even the Inspire book club, have already donated clothes — the bags in the foreground were collected at a club gathering:
Hillcrest churchgoers can bring donations when they come to church; everybody else is asked to bring donations to the Helpline’s office at 35th/Morgan (map), which is staffed Monday through Friday from 7-8:30 am; Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-4 pm; Wednesdays noon-6 pm. You can also call 206.932.4357 – which is the same number for people to call to make an appointment to “shop” at the Clothesline (for free), which Anna says is stocking kids and adult sizes, even shoes (currently, though, men’s clothing is limited).
Two more Helpline notes – Metropolitan Market has donated grocery bags for Clothesline “shoppers” – and the Taste of West Seattle fundraiser for Helpline (which provides emergency services for area families) is just one month away – May 14, The Hall at Fauntleroy; Anna says some tickets are still available — ticket info is on the Helpline website (or call that same number,
From tonight’s 
| 4 COMMENTS