North Delridge Neighborhood Council: New leadership, & more
From left, leaders of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council elected tonight – co-secretary Holli Margell, co-chair Russell Ehrman, (continuing) co-chair Jay Mirro, co-secretary David Ellinger. At tonight’s meeting, they heard from Randy Engstrom of Youngstown Arts Center, wearing a hat as interim director of the Food and Fitness Initiative; he talked about the outreach to stores such as the Super 24 – the newly painted mural is part of that (here’s our August photo):
Point of the outreach is to bring healthier food to Delridge even without a conventional grocery store in the area, and they’re working with Super 24 to get it going. Another big topic: The latest on how to get city money for street projects, as explained by Delridge’s Neighborhood Service Coordinator Ron Angeles. Eight projects are proposed in the NDNC’s area, and the group needs to prioritize the list and get it to the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council by November; that council will have an SDOT rep at its next meeting (10/21) to discuss street-project funding. Then NDNC leaders/members will take a walking tour of the proposed project sites on 10/24, 1 pm, followed by discussion at Olympia Pizza. One more note from tonight – co-chair Mirro talked about the Duwamish Alive! fall cleanup event coming up 10/17, one week from this Saturday; he is steward of the Brandon Street Natural Area, which is one of the work areas (nine in all, with two others in West Seattle – Roxhill Bog and Herring’s House Park – plus Alki Kayak Tours leading a waterborne crew on the Duwamish) – go here for more info, including how to volunteer.
The North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets 6:30 pm, first Wednesday of the month, usually at Delridge Library.
From the “in case you were wondering” file: 35th/Alaska
Received a few notes/calls about a notable police presence surrounding a Metro bus at 35th/Alaska in the past hour and a half or so. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith says the call involved a “disturbance” on the bus – primary responding agency was Metro Transit police, with SPD as backup. No other details; no aid/fire crews were summoned, which would generally mean no injuries involved. THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: Metro police are part of the King County Sheriff’s Office, so we checked on this with Sgt. John Urquhart – he confirms there were no injuries and says no one was arrested, either – the person causing the disturbance apparently needed mental-health attention.
Jewelry box found: Could it be discarded loot?
The WSB Forums are the best place for lost/found items (aside from pets) in most cases but here we have another exception – since the finder thinks this might be related to a recent crime – Monte e-mailed tonight:
A couple of weeks ago I found a jewelry box in my garbage can and would like to return it to its rightful owner. I’ve been reading here on WS Blog about all the burglary/break-ins here in Gatewood (California and Othello area). Nothing too valuable here, mostly costume jewelry and a young girl’s keepsake stuff. Identify it and I’ll get it back to you right away.
You can reach him at 206-265-2812.
Followup: 3 of 4 suspects charged in restaurant-owner holdup
Three of the four suspects arrested in connection with the knifepoint holdup of the owner of Yummy Teriyaki are now charged with first-degree robbery – while the fourth, whose release from jail (after posting bond on $25,000 bail) we reported yesterday, is not charged so far, but remains under investigation. Since the three are charged as adults, we are identifying them: 17-year-old Bashir Mohamed, 16-year-old Burhan Mohamed, both Tukwila residents, and 16-year-old Abdisalam Yusef, a West Seattle resident. Prosecutors have requested their bail be set at $50,000 each. Court documents say Bashir Mohamed has cases pending for domestic-violence assault, malicious mischief and criminal trespass, while the other two have “no known criminal history.” However, the documents add, “… they are charged with a violent crime which appears to have been premeditated, as the victim was ambushed as he was closing his shop and in possession of the day’s cash. The victim’s credit card was used between the time it was stolen and the time the defendants were apprehended.” Notably to other stories we’ve covered, the documents also mention “an attempted purse snatch around the same time, same location, and with suspects whose description matches these defendants.” It’s not clear which incident that refers to – we will check tomorrow; besides the Gatewood purse-snatch attempt reported in this story today (which happened shortly before the Junction holdup, but more than a mile away), we also published word last week of a purse-snatch attempt closer to The Junction. As for the three charged suspects’ status, King County Prosecuting Attorney Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe says the three are scheduled to appear in court October 20th to answer the charges.
Election 2009: Candidates talk housing, tomorrow @ Youngstown
Just got word of this: The Housing Consortium is hosting a brown-bag-lunch candidates’ forum at Youngstown Arts Center at noon tomorrow, and the public’s invited. Karen Williams describes it as:
…a fun, unique format, we are calling it “speed dating” with the candidates. It will be an interactive forum where candidates rotate alongside their opponent to small groups providing opportunities for candidates to address affordable housing issues in greater detail and in a dialogue setting. Candidates will be asked initial questions and those in attendance will have the opportunity to follow up with additional questions or comments. All candidates for Seattle City Council, Mayor and King County Exec will be there.
Here’s the official invite/flyer. Meantime, one week from tomorrow night, you’re also invited to the big West Seattle Candidates’ Forum, co-presented by the Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils, also at Youngstown, 7 pm October 15.
New feature at West Seattle’s only official off-leash area
Wood chips await helping hands to move them into place for a new feature at Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area in Highland Park, West Seattle’s only official off-leash area: Westcrest steward Steve McElhenney tells WSB that this will be “a new “special needs” area of the park. I pitched my idea to Seattle Parks a few weeks ago to clear out an area right inside the offleash area north parking lot to create access for the elderly and disabled folks with dogs that had a hard time getting to the upper area.” Steve says that, thanks to Dennis Dylan and crew at the tree-service company JTS, they have lots of chips waiting to be spread – volunteers are welcome to join in and help 6-8 pm tomorrow night and 10 am-noon Saturday.
Canape Specialty Chef Services: Welcoming a new WSB sponsor
Today we’re welcoming one of our newest WSB sponsors, Canape Specialty Chef Services, a private chef business 
owned and operated by Executive Chef Jay DeLong. Canape Specialty Chef Services‘ philosophy is “Let The Chef Come to You.” Chef Jay offers multi-course dinners, small parties & cooking classes to private citizens in their homes. He is also leading two cooking classes coming up at J.F. Henry Kitchen and Tableware in The Junction: On October 22nd, you will learn how to make “Soups from Scratch”; on November 19th, it’s all about “Holiday Morsels.” Canape’s focus is on using fresh local ingredients to create custom menus specifically for the clients, as well as focusing on service. When Chef Jay cooks for you, he brings all the necessary tools, service items & ingredients, preparing and serving the meal, and cleaning up completely afterward, so it’s a very relaxing experience for you. Canape Specialty Chef Services‘ most popular offerings are dinner parties and birthday/anniversary celebrations; often people aren’t sure what to expect when hiring a private chef, and are blown away by the results (read some testimonials here). To contact Canape Specialty Chef Services, visit the website – www.canapechefservices.com – or call 206-380-9937; you’ll also find Canape on Facebook and on Twitter. We thank Canape Specialty Chef Services for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; the sponsor team, plus info on joining, is all here.
4 quick updates from SDOT: Bridge, signal, bus stop, paving
WEEKEND BRIDGE WORK: From SDOT’s Marybeth Turner this morning: “SDOT crews plan to work on the West Seattle Bridge at the Harbor Avenue exit on Saturday, October 10 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. replacing a crash cushion. They will be working on the shoulder and will merge traffic around the work site.”
ADMIRAL/CALIFORNIA SIGNAL: Lots of talk in recent weeks (including this WSB Forums discussion) about what seems to be a timing problem at this intersection, leading to backups. According to Turner, “We are currently in the process of changing the timing on the California Ave SW corridor as well as the SW Admiral Way corridor.” She’s pursuing more specifics, but at least you know it’s on their radar, so to speak.
BUS STOP IN FRONT OF THE NEW QFC: A week and a half ago, Metro told us this long-gone bus stop (westbound SW Alaska) was expected to be back within 2 weeks, but the city would be doing the work to replace it. Having not seen a crew yet, we checked with Turner, who explains, “SDOT is awaiting delivery of a sign for the bus stop.” No ETA yet.
16TH SW PAVING: SDOT sent an announcement late yesterday reiterating the road-rebuilding work north of South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) is all but done (as noted here 2 weeks ago):
The reconstruction of 16th Avenue SW between SW Findlay and SW Brandon streets is now substantially complete, with a dramatic improvement in what was a very dilapidated roadway. Crews working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) rebuilt and slightly widened the road; made drainage improvements including a new storm drain and street drain inlets; repaved the walkway on the west side of the street; and rebuilt the concrete driveways. They plan to finish striping along the roadway by mid month.
To see before/after photos side-by-side, check out this SDOT website.
Traffic alert: Truck trouble slows down The Bridge, westbound
Thanks to Mark T. for that picture of a truck that’s currently blocking the westbound lanes near the 4th Street ramp. Thanks also to others who’ve sent notes – this is Thomas’s report:
There’s a gravel truck that took the ramp from the west bound bridge to
4th ave too sharp and the rear trailer overturned.
10:43 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter, SDOT reports, “The left westbound lane … has opened. The truck has been removed and cleanup continues.” Then moments later they said they’ve closed both westbound lanes “for cleaning.” 10:56 AM UPDATE: And now the final word from SDOT: Both lanes are clear.
Tonight: Junction parking @ SW Council; North Delridge; CSOs
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Tonight’s agenda includes Dante Taylor from SDOT briefing the group on the proposed changes in Junction parking. The map you see above is the official version of the one that was shown in rough draft to the recent Parking Project Committee meeting (WSB coverage here); it’ll be on a mailer going out to area homes/businesses shortly. Also on the agenda for tonight’s meeting: 7 pm, board room at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor).
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 tonight, Delridge Library.
COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS – AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO LOCAL BEACHES: Tonight and tomorrow night, King County Wastewater Treatment Division comes to West Seattle to talk about two projects involving pump stations and “combined sewer overflows” — what happens when the system gets overloaded – which affects Puget Sound and local beaches more than you might realize. Tonight’s meeting looks at the “Murray basin” – related to the underground pump station at Lowman Beach north of Lincoln Park. It’s at 6:30 pm at The Kenney; background information here. Tomorrow night, it’s the “Barton basin,” related to the underground pump station next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock – that meeting’s at 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy; background info here.
West Seattle Art Walk on Thursday night: More than 60 venues!
WSB sponsors Hotwire Coffee, Brunette Mix, Mural Apartments, Wallflower Custom Framing, Dream Dinners, Click! Design That Fits, M3 Bodyworks, Feedback Lounge, Coffee at the Heights, Endolyne Joe’s, and Skylark Club and Cafe are among the 60-plus venues participating in the West Seattle Art Walk this fall – and tomorrow (Thursday) night is the next one, 6-9 pm. The highlight of the night is bound to be Smashing Pumpkins – A Punk Rock Pumpkin Carve-A-Thon at the Feedback (see the poster here). Toward the south end of the Art Walk map, The Kenney is having a bazaar on Art Walk night (get your holiday shopping done early!); on the northeast side of the map, Skylark is showcasing Jenny Jimenez‘s photos (you’ve seen her work in the Seattle Weekly, which previewed her rock-photo show here; last spring she even covered the WSB-presented West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day). More artist previews are on the official West Seattle Art Walk site; check it out and then plan your route with the map (second page of this PDF) – 6-9 pm Thursday.
Two weeks after the 
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