2 reports to share (and a few more are in queue for another report later today): As noted on Twitter during a busy early Friday morning – an Alki resident reported that his car was broken into by someone who then tried to run him over. The victim posted a few details in a comment thread on another Crime Watch story, and we invited him to send more info. It happened around 12:30 am Friday in the Stevens Crest Apartments parking garage (61st/Stevens). He describes the culprits as a black male driving a gray Chevy Malibu, license plate 855-S**, and white male “who was in my car at the time I found them – approximately 5’10”-6′, wearing a white T-shirt, black baseball cap with white pinstriping. Most notable feature were his eyebrows for some reason – they were rather thick. Tattoos (gray and black scale, no colors) on his arms.” He says he confronted the two, and they “tried to run me over in the … garage.” Here’s what he says they stole:
2 Tama Tom drums 12 and 13 inch.
5 Zildjian Cymbals (in a DW bag)
1 Pork Pie metal snare drum
DW Stick bag with multiple sets of sticks
A Camelback bag (backpack) with gym clothes
iPod Video (Black)
Mackie 16 ch Mixing Console
Mixed monitor cables and Guitar cords
Meantime, there’s a long report from Westwood from someone who watched a suspicious pair Friday afternoon – read on:Read More
Want to grow your own food but don’t know where to start?
We can help!
Garden Helpers is a new program from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. Experienced gardeners, trained by Seattle Tilth, can provide you with free, in-person advice to design, install, or maintain your own vegetable garden. Whether you have a backyard garden, P-Patch, or container garden, Garden Helpers are mentors who can help you get started on a garden, choose the right plants, and answer all of your questions about growing your own vegetables.
If you live in West Seattle or White Center and would like help from a Garden Helpers volunteer, call us at (206) 762-0604 or send us an e-mail at info@gleanit.org. For more information, here are the Garden Helpers Frequently Asked Questions>. This program is funded by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
The West Seattle Weekend Lineup, published last night, has indoor options as well as outdoor, if you just don’t feel like getting a little soggy. But the forecast suggests it might lighten from “showery” to “cloudy” later, so all hope of umbrellalessness is not lost. The annual Family Fest and Car Showcase at Southwest Community Center will run 11 am-5 pm, including a free swim at adjacent Southwest Pool 1-2 pm, and if you like the warm water/brisk air effect, Day 1 at Colman Pool (starting with lap swims at noon) is the place to be. Then tonight, two special entertainment options – final performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” by student actors and musicians at West Seattle High School Theater, and the first of two “Zen Tales” performances by UMO Ensemble at ArtsWest. Also – next door in White Center, there’s an ice-cream social/hip-hop show at Full Tilt, noon-5 pm, with posters promising free scoops (see it on the FT website).
She was joined by the mother of a Somali boy who was beaten days later, in the April 29 incident that happened hours before hundreds filled a room at Neighborhood Center for a community safety conversation. At that meeting (WSB coverage here), police and Housing Authority leaders heard many of the same concerns brought forward today.
But this time, it was a much smaller forum. The two women were part of a group of about 30, led by the High Point Somali Residents Council (HPSRC).Read More
As promised, Seattle Lutheran High School sent updates on Twitter all day on how their athletes were faring in big games/meets – and the biggest news of all, the Saints baseball team beat Mossyrock 14-7, advancing to the finals tomorrow. They’ll play Colfax at 4 pm in Yakima. In other sports, the softball team lost its first game of the day but rebounded for a win later and is still alive in the state tournament, and two runners are off to their finals too – check here for all the tweets.
Things are pretty quiet on the event front, since the holiday weekend’s more a time to hang out with friends and family – but if you’re looking for something special to do with them this weekend, you do still have options, such as “Zen Tales,” a family-friendly production at ArtsWestthis Saturday night and Sunday afternoon by the UMO Ensemble. And there’s a festival at Southwest Community Center on Saturday, featuring a car show and free swim. Plus Colman Poolopens Saturday for its first preseason weekend! Hey, never mind the rain, you’re going to get wet anyway. The WSWL is sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club, where you’ll find FREE live music, bountiful brunches, plus lunch ‘n’ dinner:Read More
Memorial Day is a time to remember those you’ve lost. The place in West Seattle where that happens every day is Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn, the only full-service facility in West Seattle, with a chapel, crematorium, columbarium (above) and mausoleum, as well as a cemetery. We’re welcoming them today as the newest WSB sponsor. Forest Lawn can also make arrangements for other types of final tributes – they can even make arrangements with Argosy Cruises if you want to scatter a loved one’s ashes at sea. General Manager Dave Salove says Forest Lawn is a place to welcome people and engage them in the complete process of arranging an appropriate and memorable celebration of a loved one’s life. Their site stretches across both sides of the winding road between the High Point neighborhood and the West Duwamish Greenbelt (map); on the south side are the buildings, on the north side the sprawling open greenery of the cemetery, site to not only private moments, but also the annual community Easter Sunrise Service and Memorial Day Service(coming up at 2 pm this Monday, as usual in conjunction with American Legion Post 160).
Since Forest Lawn is part of a nationwide company, they also can help you with arrangements in other cities – just call them to see if they have a facility in the area where you need to have the funeral. Here at home, Forest Lawn belongs to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and Dave is on the West Seattle Food Bank board, the Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, and The Kenney Foundation. You can reach Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn by phone at 206-932-0050, or online.
Weather permitting, they plan bagpipe music at 6 pm tonight and Saturday, as part of Memorial Day weekend. We thank Forest Lawn for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
That’s Heavenly Pastry‘s Allison Barnes with a basket of her already-legendary pretzels – which they sold at farmers’ markets, among other places, before opening their own retail store at 2604 California SW as of noon today (as previewed here). Again, it’s a “soft opening,” which means they’re not revved up to full production yet – but you will find scones and cookies today as well as those pretzels:
Allison says Heavenly Pastry will be open till 7 tonight, 10 am-7 pm tomorrow, 7 am-3 pm Sunday, then closed Mondays and Tuesdays – which will be their usual days off – before reopening 7 am-7 pm Wednesday.
CONTRACT AWARDED FOR MYRTLE RESERVOIR PARK: Construction is finally about to start on Myrtle Reservoir Park, now that the contract’s been awarded to Seattle-based Ohno Construction. Project manager Virginia Hassinger tells WSB the contract is for $470,000 pre-tax. A pre-construction meeting is set for June 7th, and after that, she says, they “will get going as soon as possible once the contract is fully executed.” (The official Parks webpage shows the park design.) Hassinger says Ohno is well-regarded for work done on Magnuson Park‘s sports fields and wetlands.
JUNCTION PLAZA PARK PLANTING PARTY DATE CHANGE: Friends of Junction Plaza Park has pushed the community planting party back a week to June 12th, since the current rainy weather put a bit of a crimp in the concrete pour at the construction site (42nd/Alaska). Those who’ve volunteered for the planting party should be getting an e-mail update from organizers. The park dedication is still on for June 29th.
Dozens of student artists from West Seattle’s high schools are showing their work in the ArtsWest gallery through tomorrow (noon-7 pm daily), including Chief Sealth International High School student Arnoldo Alvarado, one of the artists on hand for a special reception there last night, as was Matthew Wood from Seattle Lutheran High School:
The reception also included an announcement of the art-show winners:
1st place Silbee Sanchez, West Seattle High School, Grade 11, European Vacation, tempera and acrylic on canvas.
Tied in 2nd place Kelly Le Phung, Seattle Lutheran High School (grade 12), Vitamin C, linoleum print; and Meru Simone, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), My Inner Fish, gouache and colored pencil on paper.
Tied in 3rd place Marlys Mandaville, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), Self Portrait, gouache on paper; and Peka Grayson, West Seattle High School (grade 12), Fruit by the Foot, acrylic
Donors for the prize money included Joan and Wilbur Springer, shown in the photo below with (at left) ArtsWest executive director Alan Harrison:
Again, you still have time to see the winning work and all the entries on display at ArtsWest (4711 California SW) today and tomorrow, noon-7 pm.
Sometime in the next week,Seattle Parks (and other departments) will announce what midyear cuts they have to make this summer as the result of mayoral mandates on the budget – but there were no hints during briefings at last night’s Parks Board meeting downtown. In fact, while previous Parks statements had indicated the cuts would be announced on or around June 1st, acting deputy superintendent Eric Friedl told the board the news might not come till the following week. In his meeting-opening briefing, filling in for acting superintendent Christopher Williams, Friedl promised that even though this is a “furlough weekend” for Parks, and there’s no trash pickup today, the “seasonal schedule” mentioned after the trash debacle a few weeks ago kicks in Saturday, so you should NOT see a repeat at Alki – or any other city park – this weekend. Read on for other toplines from the Parks Board meeting, which started with a relatively sizable crowd – about 30 people:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
What looks like vandalism on the south side of the new Junction flower shop Fleurt is actually from an early-morning car crash. First we heard from Jack, who says that around 6 am, he saw a car up on the curb at California/Oregon (map) with “front body damage” and five police cars at the scene; then Ellen e-mailed wondering if the smashed shelves and planters she saw outside Fleurt were the work of vandals. Christopher Boffoli just checked it out for WSB – his photo is above; he says there’s no major damage to the structure itself. Fleurt wasn’t open yet when he went by, but an SPD card in the door says the crash happened about 5:50 am. We’re checking with police on the driver’s status; 911 logs don’t show a medic response, and Jack said it looked as if a search was under way when he went by. 1:44 PM UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James confirms that the car was stolen, no driver in sight when police arrived; someone saw a person run from the scene but hadn’t actually seen that person driving the car. He adds, “The vehicle was returned to the owner, who did not know that the vehicle had been stolen.”
ORIGINAL 9:40 AM REPORT: We’re continuing to receive questions about this, so just in case you were wondering too: We’ve just received new information from police regarding the incident that backed up traffic on the eastbound bridge around 7:30 am; some who e-mailed us reported seeing a “scooter” at the scene. Police had trouble finding information during our first call but Seattle Police Media Unit Officer Renee Witt has since located a report that says a “man driving a moped” was hurt in a possible hit-run crash. No word yet on his condition (we have a message out to the Fire Department, which would know if the injuries were life-threatening) or whether the other driver was found. 12:01 PM UPDATE: We’ve heard from enough witnesses to describe the 2-wheeler as a scooter, so we have changed the headline, and even more importantly, Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen tells WSB the rider was not seriously hurt and did not have to be taken to the hospital.
If you don’t mind tidewalking in the rain, the tides today and tomorrow are almost as low as they were two weeks ago, when we shared some great photos from WSB’ers. Today it’ll be down to -2.5 just before noon, and -2.3 tomorrow just after noon. And tomorrow marks the first day of the season for the volunteer beach naturalists deployed by the Seattle Aquarium (WSB sponsor) – they’ll be on the beach at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park each of the next three days (schedule and other locations around the city are here.)
First WSB’er JanS reported seeing it on a sign on the 2604 California SW storefront … then last night, it was announced on Facebook: Today’s the day Heavenly Pastry and Cake will open its doors. They’re between Alki Bike and Board and Linda’s Flowers and Gifts, and say they’ll be open noon-7 pm today. (Here’s our original preview story from last November.)
(Cameraphone photo added 1:08 am – we & other media are of course not being allowed too close) ORIGINAL 11:53 PM REPORT: We have no official info on this yet but multiple reports from neighbors: Police are reported to be negotiating with someone inside a home around 11th/Henderson (map). A neighbor tells WSB officers told her it had something to do with domestic violence. She also says she was advised to stay in her home, and that the officers are using megaphones (or something amplified) to try to talk the man out.
12:24 AM: The standoff is still under way; the man has not responded to police’s attempts to reach him, and – as commenters in the area have mentioned – they are trying other tactics. Also, per Twitter, police now have a public-information officer heading to the scene – they confirm it began as a domestic-violence-assault call. (Whether there was a victim, is not clear; there were no medic/aid calls on the 911 log in that area.) On the media hotline, Det. Mark Jamieson says there was concern the man may have access to weapons, and that’s the reason for the major response.
1:10 AM: Commenters from Highland Park are adding some incremental info on what they’re hearing; we’ve got someone at the scene but media is being kept way back, about half a block away (TV crews are there too).
1:21 AM: Police are definitely now inside, and saying on the scanner they haven’t found any guns.
1:29 AM: Det. Jamieson has talked to us and other media. The 40-year-old suspect is being taken to the precinct for processing. Officers are searching the house, including what’s apparently a detached garage where the man was holed up. We have the whole media briefing on video and that’ll be back here at HQ in a few minutes so we can upload.
2:22 AM: Here’s the entire 4-minute briefing. As you’ll hear Det. Jamieson explain – as SWAT vehicles depart in the background – it started with an assault report involving 2 people, though he says neither was seriously hurt.
8:34 AM:The summary on SPD Blotter has a few additional details about the victims in the initial assault call, describing the victims as his “juvenile nephew” and a friend of that boy, as well as noting that the home belongs to the suspect’s sister.
“What needs to change in your neighborhood in order to make walking, biking, and riding transit easy?” WSB’ers have a LOT of answers to that one – so we want to be sure you’d heard about your next chance to speak out. The city’s “Walk, Bike, Ride” initiative has just started a series of community gatherings – kicking off with the Health/Equity/Transportation Forum you can watch in the window above – and one meeting is coming up in West Seattle – 6 pm June 14th at Delridge Community Center. The meeting invite promises that you’ll “receive information on what types of projects are possible, and fill out a ‘ballot’ that will help the city prioritize these types of transportation projects.”
Another request tonight for help finding families who have room for a visiting international student this summer. From Andrew Ward, a teacher who lives in West Seattle:
There will be 17 students flying to Seattle from Spain this summer for the month of July, but I have yet to secure sponsor homes for FOUR of the incoming students. The other kids have already been matched with host‐families. I am looking for four more homes where they can learn more about life in America and practice their English. They have their own insurance and spending money. They just need to have their own bed to sleep in and a place at the dinner table.
Host families will need to complete an application packet. It’s pretty easy, and it’s a FUN way to get to know another culture and potentially make life‐long international friends!!! If you are interested in participating, please e-mail Mr. Andrew Ward at senorward@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Time is of the essence in getting everything set up in time for them to be able to come to the US. It would be such a shame to have these few kids miss out. To have more of your questions answered, the following websites will help (too): www.nacelopendoor.org or www.nacel.net.
Looking for something to read, and/or wondering what’s hot? Every week, courtesy of Gretchen Montgomery @ Square One Books (WSB sponsor), we bring you her independent West Seattle bookstore’s 5 best-sellers in each of 4 key categories:
Hardcover:
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
2. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre
3. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
4. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
5. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Paperback:
1. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
2. Carrier: Untangling the Danger in My DNA by Bonnie Rough
3. The Signal by Ron Carlson
4. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
5. Manhood For Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon
Children/Young Adult:
1. The Mysterious Benedict Society Series by Trenton Lee Stewart
2. The Stink Series by Megan McDonald
3. The 39 Clues #9/Storm Warning by Linda Sue park
4. Star Wars/A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder
5. Mama, Is it Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
Teen:
1. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
4. Mistwood by Lean Cypess
5. Fang by James Patterson
Square One, by the way, has a cookbook sale under way right now, through next Tuesday (June 1st).
Couple followups. First – hours after our story last night about the long-trashed crosswalk-flag basket at California/Dawson south of The Junction, the couple who reported it, Kim and Efram – who said SDOT hadn’t answered repeated complaints – wrote to say, “This morning we woke up to…..FLAGS AT THE CROSSWALK!! SDOT must’ve come in the night and furtively put new flags in, like elves or something!” We went over to check and got the above photo at noontime (several flags were on the west side; the one in the foreground, east side, had just been carried across). They’re the orange flags that we’ve seen in private baskets, though, not the yellow ones SDOT had originally distributed … hmm.
At the time,Seattle Public Utilities told us the reservoir would be filled “next (this) summer.” Checked with SPU’s Andy Ryan today – and he says it’s actually being filled right now; they’re about two-thirds of the way done with filling the 30-million-gallon covered reservoir. It takes up half the space the old open one did – SPU said they didn’t need that much capacity.
1. to the baseball team for getting to the final 4. They will play in Yakima Friday @ 4:00 opponent to be determined. They are 2 wins away from being a State Champion.
2. to the Fast Pitch team they are 3rd in Tri-District and will be playing Friday in the 16 team State Tournament in Yakima.
3. to the following track individuals who will be going to Eastern University to compete in the State Track Meet Friday: Jilllian Smith in Long Jump and Pole Vault, Elyssa Watord in the Long Jump and shot Put, Alina Yovetich in the 400, Lucas Driscol in the Shot Put, Dylan Heckett in the Shot Put, Gordy Mueller in the Javelin, Jake Nigon in the Pole Vault, Shot Put and the 400.
That banner has just gone up in the window at 4417 Fauntleroy Way (map), the former OK Corral barbecue joint (which quietly went from take-out, to catering-only, to closed over the past few months): Jones Barbeque, coming soon. You may know them from SODO and/or Columbia City. We’ve got messages out to company ownership/management to find out about the West Seattle plan, so stand by for more.
We spotted the sign while heading over to take a photo of what WSB Forums member Nuni pointed out — the new left-turn signals at 35th/Avalon have just been switched on, after more than a week under wraps:
The signals are just on the west/east lights (Avalon to 35th), not the north/south ones. And yes, this is the same intersection that has one of West Seattle’s two red-light-camera systems (along with 35th/Thistle).
2 reports to share (and a few more are in queue for another report later today): 
Aviva at 
even make arrangements with 
(coming up at 2 pm this Monday, as usual in conjunction with American Legion Post 160).
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