Community Harvest plum-picking update: Half a ton of fruit!
It’s been a big week for Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle since our last report on their fruit-picking season, in more ways than one. For one, they’ll be featured on TV later this week – KING5 shot CHoSS volunteers harvesting plums at Margaret‘s house earlier this week. The story is tentatively scheduled to air tomorrow morning and noontime, according to Aviva from CHoSS, who adds:
Community Harvest would like to thank all the tree owners who have been donating their trees for picking. Since the posting last week, we have harvested over 1,000 pounds of fruit from 12 trees. We appreciate all the new harvest volunteers who have responded as well, and especially those folks who have picked their own trees for donation.
Tree owners do help – like Margaret’s daughter Hazel, walking here with a CHoSS volunteer:
Donated fruit goes to keep local folks from going hungry. If you can volunteer to help pick, and/or have a tree to “donate,” contact info for Community Harvest is on its website, gleanit.org. (Thanks to Margaret for sharing the pix!)
West Seattle author Terry Brooks’ annual local reading Saturday
Didn’t get an official announcement about this, but we just happened to check the website of Terry Brooks, 
the mega-selling author who lives in West Seattle, and discovered he’s scheduled his annual-tradition local appearance at Barnes and Noble in Westwood Village: 2 pm this Saturday. This will be the fourth consecutive year we’ve covered his readings there, always in late summer: 2006, 2007, 2008. Also according to the author’s website, Brooks is sponsoring the Seattle Interagency Academy Book Fair at the same time. These appearances always coincide with a new book release, and this time it’ll be “A Princess in Landover,” the sixth book in his “Magic Kingdom” series. (Terry Brooks photo from terrybrooks.net, used with permission)
Fauntleroy Way road work: SDOT says it’ll be done mid-September
(Fauntleroy/Juneau photo taken last week by Chas Redmond)
Just in from Marybeth Turner at SDOT:
We are happy to announce that final paving on Fauntleroy starts tomorrow!
The project has progressed nicely. Our contractor, Gary Merlino, will begin the final overlay tomorrow and expects to complete the work by Friday night. Traffic will be shifted several times throughout the day but uniformed police officers will be on site to assist traffic. We expect work to continue into the PM peak hour as crews work long days in an attempt to complete all the paving before the weekend.
Shortly after the final overlay is completed, the contractor will begin striping the roadway with the new “channelization” (lane line configuration). Barrels and caution tape will remain in place until all of the striping is completed. During the same time, the contractor will take care of the finishing details and cleanup work.
Work is expected to wrap up in mid-September. We thank everyone in advance for their patience.
Here’s how the road will be configured after the work is done:
Rasmussen: “Will make sure we have (Delridge) skatepark built”
(future skatepark site at northeastern corner of Delridge Playfield/Community Center park)
A followup this afternoon to a story we brought you yesterday, with Pete Spalding reporting from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting that the funding situation for the planned Delridge Skatepark was changing. We checked in with City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and today he’s sent this update:
As the Chair of the City Council’s Parks and Seattle Center Committee, I am working to ensure that the City keeps its commitment to build the skateparks that are planned. When I saw yesterday’s article in the West Seattle Blog about the money for the Delridge Skatepark vanishing I immediately contacted the Superintendent’s Office to find out what is going on.
There has been confusion about the funding source for the project, but based upon assurances from the Parks Superintendent, I am confident that the solution the Parks Department and Levy Oversight Committee have settled on is a workable one. I will keep a close eye on this during the City Council’s yearly budget review and will make sure we have the skatepark built as planned.
I want to thank Pete Spalding for his work on the Parks Levy Oversight Committee and your readers and the Delridge neighborhood residents for their tireless support of this project. In other areas of the city we have had trouble finding sites for skateparks. Delridge has been very supportive and welcoming. Together we can make this happen!
I am committed to the project 110%. I agree with the suggestion of some of the writers that it would be good to contact the other eight City Councilmembers to ask them to support the Delridge Skatepark. It is important that the Council hear from the community now and during our budget review which will begin at the end of September.
Thank you,
Tom Rasmussen
Seattle City Councilmember
Here again is the contact information for City Councilmembers
Swinery sets its West Seattle opening date: September 15th
(July photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Just announced by Gabriel Claycamp:
After the longest summer in the history of Man, The Swinery is about to open…(with the shortest press release ever)
3207 California Ave SW
shop 206.932.4211
www.swinerymeats.com
sales@swinerymeats.com
artisan butcher, charcuterie, aged cheeses, delicatessen, snacks, sandwiches, wine, etc … Opening September 15th.
You heard about the location here first, you may recall, thanks to the reporting of WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli (June 21 story here, and here’s Christopher’s in-depth look at the space, and what’s planned, from July 26).
WSB to collaborate with the Northwest’s biggest news organization
Late August is supposed to be a slow time, with summer ebbing, extra time to enjoy the sun. But somehow it always manages to be an exciting time here at WSB HQ. Almost exactly two years ago, your support helped plant the seeds of WSB’s transformation into a business, with seed money raised during our first and only Pledge Day. Today, we’re thrilled to announce our participation in a new journalistic collaboration involving our region’s largest news organization as well as three of our fellow independent, neighborhood-based online news publishers.
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City councilmembers campaign against state crimefighting cuts
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen calls this to our attention – and yours: The elimination — scheduled to take effect today — of four particular positions in the state Department of Corrections has him and his colleagues worried about the effect on local crime/safety. 
If you think that department only works with the state prison system, think again: For just one example, there are DOC officers who partner with local police, hitting the street to track down wanted criminals with arrest warrants. (So many times, when we receive “what are police doing on my street?” questions, the answer turns out to be “warrant service.”) In this specific case, according to a letter signed by the Seattle City Council as well as Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and leaders of other cities around the county (plus other law-enforcement agencies, while none of the four positions to be cut in the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative is West Seattle-specific, the cuts do include one position assigned to the King County Sheriff’s Office and created specifically after the murder in White Center of KCSO Deputy Steve Cox (whose killer was under DOC supervision at the time). Here’s an excerpt of the letter:
The cuts would adversely impact our region’s ability to capture wanted felons, to monitor offenders in our communities on DOC-supervised release, and to provide hands-on personal assistance to DOC-supervised individuals who require housing, detoxification services, medical care, social services, and crisis intervention and support in order to stay out of trouble and risk reoffending.
Many DOC-supervised individuals engage in stranger-on-stranger violence to maintain their drug and alcohol addictions; they significantly contribute to social disorder in more densely populated areas due to aggressive panhandling and anti-social behavior associated with mental illness and chemical dependency. As a result, residents are rightly worried about their personal safety. They seek our help to protect them.
Read the full letter here; read more about state DOC budget-cut implementation here. Councilmember Rasmussen says he and Councilmember Tim Burgess, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, developed the letter and believe, “For the sake of the safety of our communities whether they are Bellevue, Shoreline, Seattle or White Center, we need these positions to be able to capture suspects and to ensure that offenders are being effectively supervised by the Department of Corrections.” We are checking with the governor’s office to get reaction to the city leaders’ letter and to see if there is any chance the positions will be restored. If you want to share a comment with the governor (on this issue or anything else), here’s how. 12:55 PM UPDATE: A spokesperson for the governor says she’s been out of town and they’re not sure if she’s seen the letter yet but they’re checking.
Traffic alert: South Park Bridge to be closed all day Saturday
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Just in from the King County Department of Transportation:
The King County Road Services Division will close the South Park Bridge over the Duwamish River on 14th/16th Avenue South this Saturday, Aug. 29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for repairs. The bridge will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic over the bridge and to large marine vessels on the water.
The repairs involve drawbridge alignment – more details here.
West Seattle Crime Watch: 3 cars targeted, family keepsake gone
The latest West Seattle Crime Watch reports we’ve received involve three cars, three neighborhoods around the peninsula, from Admiral all the way south almost to White Center — one broken into, one tagged, and one stolen while its owner was moving, with a precious family keepsake now gone – read on for details (and prevention info, too):Read More
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