First Southwest Design Review Board meeting in three months tonight – if there are no projects to review, they don’t meet – and it was a 3 1/2-hour doubleheader. Toplines while we work on the longer story: The Kenney‘s redevelopment (see the presentation here) advances out of “early design guidance” after four meetings, which means one more meeting ahead for what could be a final review; most of Admiral Safeway‘s redevelopment (see the presentation here) needs to come back for at least one more look – main objection is that the California side of the store doesn’t have openings/entrances/features with which to engage – but the board gave thumbs-up to the request for final approval for the smaller retail building on the site, which Safeway wants to build fast so it can house the pharmacy while the rest of the store is closed during construction. More to come in the morning! (From left in photo: Kenney CEO Kevin McFeely, Design Review Board members Myer Harrell and Joe Hurley, city planner Michael Dorcy) P.S. One reminder: Friday (10/23) is the deadline for comment on the “alley vacation” that is part of the Admiral Safeway proposal, requiring a separate type of approval. Here’s our original story about the proposal and the call for comments (with info on how to send yours).
Thanks to Lynn Ogdon for that photo of the Chief Sealth High School men’s varsity cross-country team (from left, Dana, Antonio, Peter, Michael, Terrance, Alex and Daniel), and this report:
Metros were held today at lower Woodland. Between the West side schools only Chief Sealth placed a runner (Daniel Perrine) in the upcoming District races to be held at Lake Sammamish state park on Oct. 29th.
Via e-mail and Twitter, multiple reports of a police search in the Highland Park Way/Kenyon area. We haven’t reached police for confirmation so far but Sarah says the store there was robbed. More details if/when we get them. 11:35 PM UPDATE: Police confirm not only that the store in Highland Park was robbed, but also say that two of the three robbers tried to hold up John’s Corner Deli in Sunrise Heights moments earlier.
(photo added early Friday)
According to police spokesperson Jeff Kappel, two people, one with a knife in his hand, went into John’s (7500 35th SW) at 8:22 pm, but something “spooked them” when they got to the front of the store and they ran off without completing the robbery. Less than 15 minutes later, three people with at least one handgun held up the Highland Park Way/Kenyon store, and police are sure that two of them were involved in the John’s Deli incident – the trio got away in a car, no description, but the robbers are described as “at least one with red bandanna covering face, second with blue bandanna covering his face … three Hispanic males, late teens to early 20s, one wearing all gray sweat suit – another one with dark hoodie, third with red hoodie.” No injuries, no arrests – call 911 if you have any clues.
A big component of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy that voters approved last year is the $15 million Opportunity Fund – money that’s not earmarked right out of the gate – open for proposals and applications, most likely to be initiated by neighborhoods. Right now, the PGSL Oversight Committee is reviewing proposed criteria for that fund – the guidelines that will spell out how proposed projects can be reviewed. The draft criteria won’t be public until next Tuesday – day after the committee’s next meeting – but the date/time/place for a public hearing on those draft criteria is set now, and if you have an interest in this park-project money, you’ll want to be there: 7 pm November 9, at Parks HQ downtown. (Thanks to two West Seattleites on the Oversight Committee, Pete Spalding and Cindi Barker, for making sure we got this announcement so we could share it with you!) The full timeline for Opportunity Fund decisions can be seen here.
Kids helped cut the ribbon this afternoon with Jennifer Cargal of Friends of Dakota Place Park, during a community celebration dedicating the park (map), which contains a historic substation building. As we’ve noted here, the park’s been open about two months, but the people who worked so hard to help make it happen wanted to take a moment to celebrate what’s taken more than five years to accomplish:
Though the landscaping and art are in place, there’s one more phase for Dakota Place – completion of the city-landmark substation building’s interior renovations, so it can serve as a satellite facility for Hiawatha Community Center. The Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee decided recently (WSB coverage here) to allocate $400,000 for that.
First – Thanks to Nancy Woodland – who you know from WestSide Baby, but is acting here as an Alki Elementary PTA volunteer, sharing that photo and this report:
This morning more than 100 Alki Elementary kids, teachers and parents were joined by the Seattle Fire Department to celebrate Walk This Way Day. With support from Safe Kids, students were reminded how easy it is to walk or bike to school and how important it is for drivers to use caution when kids are present. Parent drivers were even surprised to be handed a cookie along with information about bus zones, speed limits and drop-off protocol!
Second – The annual Walk-A-Thon fundraiser at Lafayette Elementary is tomorrow, and organizers say it’ll be bigger than ever, in more ways than one. The biggest way: The school has 60 more students — two additional classes (kindergarten and 1st grade). Kids, teachers and other school staffers will be participating, along with community volunteers, between 9 am and 3 pm on the school playground (along Lander, west of California). This year, the Walk-A-Thon has more than 100 business/community sponsors – including WSB; we are proud to be able to co-sponsor community events, so when you go around recruiting sponsors for yours, be sure to contact us too!
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Still working to get more information on this – police and fire units have been in the 6000 block of Lanham Place – police say the Fire Department asked them to assist with a report of “2 small children that fell out of a window.” We have a crew arriving there and also will be checking with SFD for more information – stand by for more details. 4:04 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli is at the scene. Neighbors tell him two children fell from a third-story window. One is said to be 4 years old. We don’t know the other’s age, nor the condition, yet. 4:10 PM UPDATE: Dana Vander Houwen with SFD tells us the children are both 3, one boy and one girl, who fell 25 feet into “soft bark” and both have “non-life-threatening injuries” – both were taken to Harborview Medical Center. 4:55 PM UPDATE: We also have a photo from Tony Bradley, who says the children reportedly were playing near the window just before they fell and may have pushed on the screen.
We’ve been chronicling what started as a federally mandated project to upgrade the drain system to new safety standards, and turned into maintenance/repairs for an unforeseen problem. Now Seattle Parks says Southwest Pool will reopen Nov. 2, after passing a key inspection today, and there’s a special offer to thank patient patrons – read on:Read More
Thanks to Brady for pointing this out last night via Twitter, and Creighton for sending a photo this afternoon: The Marines are at Jefferson Square, moving into the storefront immediately southeast of Bartell Drugs, next to GNC. We didn’t have time to stop in but it looks like set-up work is being done inside, so the office isn’t open yet.
This time the call comes from whale expert Jeff Hogan – he says they’re close to shore and they’re heading back north – we also received a Twitter report about half an hour ago re: a sighting at Three Tree Point. Off to the beach! Send pix if you get them! ADDED 3:40 PM: Shaky zoom but we got some :11 into the clip above. Thanks to everyone for sharing sighting info. Here’s channel 4 chopper video:
Also a great link – orca video from a kayak! Thanks to Scott for sharing the link via Twitter – go here.
Amy Beaudoin of West Seattle Natural Energy says it’s the future of renewable energy – a way to save power and money. Today, her company is installing West Seattle’s first grid-tied vertical access wind turbine at a Fauntleroy home. She says they’re excited this is finally happening – permits have been in the works for months. We’ll be back later for an update once the turbine’s up and running.
Today we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, William H. Raleigh, D.D.S. Situated at the corner of California and Genesee (map), Dr. Raleigh‘s dental office is becoming a landmark among the new nearby developments full of condos and retail spaces. Dr. Bill Raleigh and his staff believe the comfortable and caring atmosphere of their practice adds a friendly touch that ties in well with Junction families, friends and neighbors. For patients who don’t walk to the office, there is parking available behind Dr. Raleigh‘s office with a ramp from the parking lot for strollers, walkers and wheelchairs. Please visit them on the web at www.drbillraleigh.com to see if you recognize Dr. Raleigh and his staff from around the community and to learn more about the practice. If you have any questions, their phone number is 206-935-5210, or you can e-mail drbillraleigh@aol.com. We thank William H. Raleigh, D.D.S., for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; the sponsor team, with info on joining, is all here.
Thanks to the folks at Roxhill Elementary Schoolfor sharing that photo of teacher Christopher Robert and this report about his big honor:
Congratulations to Kindergarten teacher, Mr. Robert, who was selected as a Symetra Hero in the Classroom! This program, which is sponsored by Bellevue-based Symetra Financial and the Seattle Seahawks, selects 24 out of the district’s 3,100 teachers each year and honors them for making a positive difference in the classroom. Mr. Robert represented Roxhill at the Oct. 18 Seahawks game versus the Cardinals, where he was honored on the field in front of 68,000 fans. Mr. Robert instills the joy of learning in his students. Through his exceptional gift as a teacher, his students achieve at a high level. Every child works hard to excel and feels such pride as they do so. The delight in his children’s eyes as they demonstrate that they can read, write and do math is magical and lights up a room! Through his guidance, modeling and instruction, Christopher also teaches his students how to become better citizens in our global society. Not only is he a Hero in the Classroom, but he also is a hero in the entire school. He provides incredible leadership and in a wide variety of ways, relentlessly works for excellence for all for every student. Mr. Robert is a true inspiration. We are so proud to have
him at Roxhill Elementary!
You can find out more about the Heroes in the Classroom program here.
From Wednesday night’s Morgan Community Association meeting: Clean water, neighborhood planning, traffic safety, and a Fauntleroy Way road-work update – read on:Read More
(photo added 8:33 am)
The “heavy rescue” callout at 17th/Roxbury is from a crash (map) has Roxbury blocked eastbound at 17th (and 17th is affected southbound). There’s a heavily damaged pickup truck visible at the scene – investigators tell us that’s one of two vehicles that were involved; its driver was one of two people taken to the hospital. 9:52 AM UPDATE: Tony Bradley sent photos of the scene as firefighters worked to get the driver out:
*LOTS* of events/activities today/tonight on the WSB Events calendar – these are just 3 of the highlights: A 3:30 pm dedication ceremony at Dakota Place Park (map) … Design Review for The Kenney (6:30 pm, presentation JUST posted online, including image above) and Admiral Safeway (8 pm, presentation online), public comment welcome/encouraged as always, both reviews at Youngstown Arts Center, 4408 Delridge (map) … Crime-fighting info for southern West Seattle at the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting, 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map).
in three months tonight – if there are no projects to review, they don’t meet – and it was a 3 1/2-hour doubleheader. Toplines while we work on the longer story: 
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