West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen stroller
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Blake:
We had our jogging stroller stolen out front of our yard in broad daylight this afternoon at 34th and Othello [map]. We were standing 30 feet away when it happened but didn’t notice. We purchased it this Monday to exercise with our 13 month old child. If anybody sees a green jogging stroller for sale in the West Seattle area, please contact me at bjs210bjs@gmail.com.
Blake says they don’t have a photo. Which leads us to a point police made when we were talking with them this afternoon (working on a story about a burglary bust, which you’ll see here tomorrow) – be sure to keep identifying information so that if your stolen property is found, it can be returned to you more easily – that means serial numbers, photos, or etch an identifier into the item.
Don’t let the fruit rot – help pick it with Community Harvest!
This morning, Steve wrote to share this story:
> So, we have this gigantic plum tree in our yard. Way more than we could ever eat on our own. Way more.
Typically we spend the end of the summer wiping smashed plum off our shoes and depositing plums into the yard waste bin. This year, we got in contact with a cool organization called Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle (in West Seattle). You call them or fill out an online form about your fruit trees. They show up with a bunch of volunteers, pick the ripe fruit, deliver it to local food banks that night. You can help pick or not. Really nice people, super easy to work with. They came and harvested the plums last night, they left us as many as we wanted for ourselves and took the rest. Might be cool to let people know about this — I was vaguely aware of the idea, but finally remembered to track them down this year.
Shortly after Steve’s note, we coincidentally heard from Aviva at Community Harvest, who says they’ve got more trees waiting to be picked – 10 new tree donors this week alone! – but they need a hand – more than one hand, actually:
This year has been an amazing year for plums, and it is hard to keep up with the calls and e-mails. We are looking for more volunteers to help pick plums, figs, apples, and pears, and supply our food banks with fresh local fruit. Volunteers can pick standing or from a ladder and are welcome to take home a small bag of fruit. If you are interested, you can contact Aviva at 206-762-0604 or info@gleanit.org. You can sign up directly from the website: www.gleanit.org . Help your community with a fun evening picking fruit.
And if you have friends in other neighborhoods – a citywide tree-mapping effort has just begun at cityfruit.org (recently featured by our fellow independent neighborhood-based news-service providers at Rainier Valley Post).
The Kenney’s Seaview Building becomes an official city landmark
We’re at the Municipal Tower downtown, where the Landmarks Preservation Board has just made its decision: The century-old, cupola-topped Seaview Building at The Kenney will be designated as an official city landmark. Much discussion centered on whether the site itself (with the stipulated exclusion of four other buildings) should be included in the landmark designation, which would mean the Landmarks Board will have more of a role in decisions to be made regarding The Kenney’s redevelopment project. Board members expressed particular interest in the “west gardens” outside The Seaview. In the vote, they decided the site WILL be part of the landmark designation too. (This is the second meeting in a row at which the Landmarks Board has voted to designate a West Seattle facility as a landmark – two weeks ago, The Sanctuary at Admiral, formerly Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, was designated.)
ADDED 5:17 PM: A few more notes: The Kenney was the work of Graham and Myers; one of the partners, John Graham Sr., is credited with designing many of Seattle’s best-known commercial buildings. The buildings excluded in the site designation were listed as Sunrise, Ballymena, Lincoln Vista and a collection of sheds; some features of the Seaview Building itself also are excluded, including its interior – which is proposed for renovation as part of The Kenney’s redevelopment – and a few other features added in the ’50s and ’60s, including an enclosed exterior staircase.
Election 2009: Mallahan leads in new vote totals, Nickels still 3rd
King County Elections has just published results of today’s vote count – first one since just before 10 pm last night – and the first of what will be mostly daily updates over the next two weeks. In the most closely watched race, the mayoral results are now Mallahan, McGinn, Nickels; see those vote totals here (scroll down the page a bit); we’ll add a few more notes here shortly, but in the meantime, all the results are linked here. ADDED 4:25 PM: In the King County Executive race, the Hutchison-Constantine gap is a little narrower – she has 36 percent, he now has 23 percent. Nothing else has changed significantly – for City Council, it still looks like Bagshaw/Bloom, Licata/Israel and O’Brien/Rosencrantz; the “No” votes are still way ahead on the bag fee, 57 percent against; for Port Commission, it remains Holland/Doud and Albro/Vekich. Back to the mayor’s race – here are the vote totals and exact percentages from the King County site:
Joe Mallahan 21101 26.76%
Mike McGinn 20880 26.48%
Greg Nickels 19864 25.19%
Next vote count around 4:30 pm tomorrow. 9:06 PM NOTE: The county’s released its nightly count of how many ballots have been received. The County Council district that includes West Seattle, 8, has the highest percentage – more than 34 percent – here are all the breakouts.
Pencil Me In For Kids adds another dropoff spot for donations
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Three weeks from today, it’s the first day of school for most area kids. Local businesses and nonprofits are working to help make sure they all go back to school with the supplies they need – among them, the volunteers at Pencil Me In For Kids. Gipsie Gitane at Washington Federal Savings in Morgan Junction just sent an announcement to get the word out that they’re now a dropoff spot – and they have another program they’d like to tell you about, too:
The local branch of Washington Federal Savings is now a drop off point for “Pencil Me in For Kids” donations to benefit West Seattle-area schools. This school supply drive helps students of all ages with donations from local residents. Please take a moment of your time to donate new school supplies to West Seattle students in need. Washington Federal is located at the corner of California and Faunterloy at 6428 California Ave SW.
In addition to participating in “Pencil Me in for Kids,” Washington Federal Savings is also launching a new “Save at School” program designed to teach elementary-aged kids good financial habits with regular deposits to a savings account. PTAs or school administrators interested in having their school participate should contact Washington Federal. The bank will match the first $5 each student deposits.
Find out more about Pencil Me In For Kids at pencilmeinforkids.org – other dropoff spots are Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) at 5619 California SW (map) and Edward Jones at 7354 35th SW (map).
WS business news: West Seattle Karate Academy is moving
(Longtime WSKA student Christopher Nuñez shows off the new sign, right below his mother’s salon, Daysi’s Salon de Belleza)
Another West Seattle business on the move – just got this announcement from Laura Vanderpool, who wrote it on behalf of the dojo to which she belongs:
After nine years in its location across from the Southwest Library, West Seattle Karate Academy is moving to a new location just down the street.
The new dojo will be four blocks south at 9455 35th Avenue SW, on the Northwest corner of the intersection of 35th SW and SW Roxbury [map], next to 35th Avenue Chiropractic.
“The building we were leasing went up for sale so I decided to look for a new space in the neighborhood,” noted owner and lead instructor Kris Wilder. “The new location was a great find – it’s bigger with higher ceilings, just a really comfortable space.”
Classes will begin at the new space Monday, August 24th. West Seattle Karate offers traditional goju-ryu karate classes for adults and children, including a “Tiny Tigers” class for kids ages 4-6. www.westseattlekarate.com
Business moving? Opening? Closing? Changing? Let us know – so we can share the news with tens of thousands of West Seattleites – editor@westseattleblog.com (or via Facebook at facebook.com/westseattleblog – and/or Twitter at @westseattleblog)
West Seattle’s Art Lending Library to open Friday night
We first told you last year about the Art Lending Library at Youngstown Arts Center – and we just got word they’re planning to open it again this Friday, for “all who may have heard about the Art Lending Library and … those who have already joined up.” Be there between 6-9 pm this Friday night, south classroom at Youngstown (which is at 4408 Delridge Way – here’s a map). If you missed earlier reports or didn’t get around to investigating, here’s how they explain the ALL:
Mission: The Art Lending Library is a system of lending and borrowing artwork to the public for free. It is a trust-based program where artists provide artwork to be checked out by any member of the public, and patrons allow artwork and artists into their homes; all in the spirit of sharing.
West Seattle soccer team takes tournament title
Thanks to proud coach Howard Chilcott for sharing that photo and this news:
West Seattle Jets ’97, Boys U12 soccer team won the 2009 Shoreline Classic Soccer Tournmant this past weekend. Playing one year up, didn’t prove enough to hold down this group of young soccer stars. Coach Howard noted, “We had 3 beautiful games, and a hard-fought championship game that was a battle of will, fatigue and desire.” As preparation for their upcoming fall season, the Jets recently spent 5 days in Wenatchee practicing twice a day in over 100 degree weather. It looks like this hard work has already begun paying off. “Effort, Solid, Go Jets!” (Missing but not forgotten from picture: Chrismon Nofsinger, Ed Horn, Nikolaus Horn)
The Jets are associated with the West Seattle Soccer Club, which is wrapping up fall registration – get the latest info here.
Followup: Why Skyelar Hailey faces three burglary charges
Update on the arrest of repeat offender Skyelar Hailey after a foot chase in Admiral yesterday: Our first information from police (reported here) indicated that he is accused of stealing a purse from a West Seattle High School teacher. Then when he was booked into jail last night, the register showed he is facing three burglary charges (the decision on actual charges is up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which has three days to decide). We asked police about that this morning; Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen says the other two potential charges have to do with “two residential burglaries.” Hailey, who turned 19 last week, remains in jail as of last check; checking online court records, we found he also has a case pending from late July in Seattle Municipal Court, with charges including reckless endangerment, refusal to stop, no valid driver’s license, obstructing a public officer, and 1st degree property destruction – we are checking to see if that incident actually happened in late July or whether the charges stem from something earlier. 5:32 PM UPDATE: No answer on that yet but we can tell you that his bail’s now been set at $25,000, according to the King County Jail Register (he’s still there right now). THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office expects to file charges against Hailey tomorrow. FRIDAY MORNING: He is formally charged now with two counts of burglary. We are working on the story, which includes the full tale of what preceded his arrest this week.
2 closures coming up soon: Southwest Pool and city libraries
As the sign says, a three-week closure is coming up at Southwest Pool. It was just last year that the pool closed for major systems work, but this time it’s different: Crews will work to upgrade its main drain per the safety requirements of the Virginia Baker Graeme Act (explained here), the same type of work that still needs to be done at almost half the city’s wading pools (those that weren’t upgraded, including Highland Park, stayed closed this summer as a result). Southwest Pool’s closure is scheduled to start August 22 (this Friday), ending with a planned Sept. 14 reopening. City-run Colman Pool (outdoors) is open daily till Aug. 30, then open again for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 5-7, before closing for the year. If you’re seeking indoor swimming alternatives during the SW Pool closure, our area has several private pools, including the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor), which does sell day passes to non-members, at the following rates:
Youth (under 14) $5
Teen (14-20) $7
Adult $10
Senior (65+) $9
Adult Couple $15
Single Parent Family (1 Adult w/up to 3 kids) $12
Family (2 adults w/up to 3 kids) $20
Another major city-facility closure coming up with potential effects on West Seattleites: The budget-related one-week closure of all city libraries is almost here: August 31 through September 6th (followed immediately by the holiday closure for Labor Day, September 7). If you are a library user, take a look at the long version of the announcement on the Seattle Public Library website – it explains in detail what the closure means, regarding everything from book-due dates to book drops.
Today/tonight: More vote-counting; heat; The Kenney; Camp Long
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ELECTION RESULTS: Our previous five reports focused on last night’s first round of election results, and candidate reaction. But many more votes remain to be counted. Next step: 4:30 pm today, King County goes public with its next count. This will be a daily affair for a while (here’s the official schedule), with final certification expected two weeks from today.
HEAT: Could hit 90 today, and that would be a record for this date.
THE KENNEY: One air-conditioned place to be at mid-afternoon: The Landmarks Preservation Board‘s meeting, 3:30 pm, Municipal Tower downtown. They’ll decide whether to designate The Kenney‘s Seaview Building as an official city landmark. (Here’s our preview.)
CAMP LONG PUBLIC MEETING: From last year’s Parks Levy, a million bucks is earmarked for renovations at Camp Long Lodge. You can find out about the plan at a public meeting tonight, 5:30.
Someone asked us to check into this – we can’t find the original note but we did find the answer 
and the scope of the work. They’ve replied with two things: First, they created
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