West Seattle Crime Watch: Shots reported on Alki; no one hit
WSB Forums member HanPhotog posted this morning about hearing what sounded like four gunshots in the Alki area early today. As we replied shortly afterward, there’d been no report of anyone being shot, and the police-info maps did not indicate any confirmed gunshot calls. But tonight, we’ve heard directly from someone else who says she found shell casings:
At 3:45 am this morning, there were 6 shots fired on 56th Ave SW close to the cross street of Alki [map]. We woke up to the sound and the flash of light of the gun being fired. One person in my house heard a car speed off after the shots. We called 911 and police responded, but without sirens. We could see them patroling the neighborhood, and spoke to one officer briefly, but since no one had seen the car and there were no sounds of anyone being hit, the police could only scan the streets and alleys looking for suspicious activity. An hour after the shots, when we had started to settle down, we heard someone open our gate at the front of the yard and walk along the house and then open the gate at the back yard. We called police again but again, all they could do was survey the neighborhood. We hadn’t actually seen the person. This morning I found 6 gun casings in the street in front of my neighbor’s house and turned them in to police.
Update: Man hit by car after fight at California/Edmunds
ORIGINAL 7:12 PM REPORT: Incident near Uptown Espresso in The Junction is causing traffic trouble. Details to come.
7:27 PM UPDATE: We’re told this all started with a fight/argument between two people – while police wouldn’t confirm much to us at the scene, witness Mark e-mailed this report:
Just before 7 pm, a scuffle with no real contact started in front of the Uptown Espresso at Edmunds and Erskine. From a distance it was just posturing and yelling. One of the guys in the fight stormed off. Then a small white car, looked like a Suzuki Samurai or Geo Tracker (white, convertible) pulled out in a hurry, a girl yelled at the people in the car and smacked it. The car then sped toward, and hit the guy that stormed off. Hard enough to knock him feet over head in the air. And they drove off. Shortly thereafter emergency folks showed up.
Police do confirm one person was taken to the hospital. The roads in the area are open again.
Update: 8th, Roxbury reopen after chase, crash, investigation
ORIGINAL 6:23 PM REPORT: Traffic alert in south Highland Park/north White Center: Roxbury is blocked both ways at 9th, 8th is blocked both ways at Cambridge. A crash here earlier is believed to have involved some kind of pursuit that scanner info linked to reckless driving. On the east side of the scene, Roxbury is blocked at 7th. Detours onto side streets are a mess; avoid the area.
7:50 PM UPDATE: See comments for at least one witness report so far. We spent some time at the scene last hour – and saw at least three dented/dinged police cars, Burien and SeaTac, with one dripping fluid from its undercarriage, another needing a tire change, while the investigation team did its work. The vehicle that apparently sparked the pursuit – at least, one that matches the description put out on the scanner – was still at the scene too (in the photo we added above), all of this on the south (eastbound) side of Roxbury. Going back shortly to see if it’s reopened yet. 9:47 PM UPDATE: Open again. Thanks again to everyone sharing eyewitness reports in the comments section; we hope to get official details (including total damage to law-enforcement vehicles) from King County Sheriff’s Office in the morning.
On the run again: Council bid #2 for Highland Park’s Dorsol Plants
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just two days left to vote in the primary election.
But one West Seattleite who’s running for office isn’t on your ballot.
Even before the 2010 election season has kicked into high gear, former Highland Park Action Committee chair Dorsol Plants has declared his intention for 2011.
He turned a lot of heads with his City Council Position 4 run in 2009 (that’s when we snapped the photo at right) – almost 18,000 people voted for him in the primary (third place, so David Bloom made it to the general election ultimately won by Sally Bagshaw) — and cites a still-burning city need for change, so he’s trying again.
He hasn’t had a big campaign kickoff, but word’s gotten around.
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West Seattle Bookshelf: Cool reading for a sizzling afternoon
Lists courtesy of Square One Books
Every week, courtesy of Gretchen Montgomery @ Square One Books (WSB sponsor), we get the lists of her independent West Seattle bookstore’s 5 best-sellers in each of 4 key categories:
Hardcover:
1. Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
2. Star Island by Carl Hiassen
3. Burn by Nevada Barr
4. Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenburg
5. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
Paperback:
1. Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
2. Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
3. Dead in the Dregs by Peter Lewis
4. Under the Dome by Stephen King
5. War Dances by Sherman Alexie
Children/Young Adult:
1. Red Pyramid/The Kane Chronicles #1 by Rick Riordan
2. Star Wars/The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
3. How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
4. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
5. The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews and Emma Hamilton
Teen:
1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3. Mockingjay (Pre-orders) by Suzanne Collins
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
5. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
Square 1 Books is in Jefferson Square. And next week – before, after and during the West Seattle Junction Association-presented Big Bonanza multi-merchant sale – Square 1 is offering 40 percent off just about everything in the store, starting Thursday.
From the RecTech interns: Winging it at the Delridge Library
Story and photos by Ina Dash, Genevieve Carrillo,
& the RecTech Teen Photojournalism Internship
Special to West Seattle Blog
Many flights were taken at the Delridge Library one recent day.
Cut-up pieces of colored paper lay scattered on the floor, as kids constructed a variety of handmade paper airplanes and rockets and took them for test flights outside the library doors.
This summer, the library has teamed up with the Museum of Flight to create a summer program that helps kids around the community express their creativity while learning about aviation. A communications officer at the Delridge Library, Cheresse Thoeny, noticed that “we… [had] …a lot of boys in this neighborhood” and wanted to find something “interesting to kids of all different ages” to bring the community together.
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2 breast-cancer-fighting fundraisers: 1 today, 1 in 2 weeks
(Photo added 12:55 pm)
TODAY: Till 4 pm, West Seattle’s most renowned 3-Day for the Cure team, Team Tracy, is outside West 5 selling bracelets and T-shirts and accepting donations – the big walk is a little over a month away (9/24-9/26, Redmond to Seattle). West 5 also is donating a portion of today’s proceeds during the fundraiser, if you head in (air conditioning!) for food and/or drinks.
TWO WEEKS AWAY: Just 2 weeks left till Northwest Hope and Healing‘s Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run! 9 am Sunday, August 29th, leaving Alki Bathhouse for a 5K round-trip course along the water. This year for the first time they’re closing Alki Avenue for the event – the projected time frame is 8 am-11 am – with more than 1,000 people taking part, that’s just too many to funnel onto the sidewalks/bike path. Signed up yet? You can do it online here.
West Seattle Sunday: Perfect for pooches and their people …
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Two events tailor-made for dogs and the people who love them – At West Seattle’s only off-leash area this morning, 9:30 am-noon at Westcrest OLA, the Westcresters PAWSWalk team is raising money with a treat sale … Then, starting at noon, CityDog Magazine‘s Cover Dog Search returns to West Seattle Thriftway – concurrent with a pet-food-donation drive for West Seattle Food Bank (whose clients’ dogs need food too!) – details here … This afternoon West Seattle Nursery has another Beer Fest, this time with Beveridge Place Pub pouring and Furry Faces Foundation benefiting, 1-4 pm (WSN also starts a big sale today) … The Highland Park Sunday Market is up and running 11 am-3 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club‘s parking lot, and West Seattle Farmers’ Market is open 10 am-2 pm as always, 44th/California (here’s today’s fresh sheet) … And 2 closure reminders: West Seattle Library (Admiral branch) closes for four weeks after today, for roof work plus the systemwide money-saving closure period, reopening 9/11 – and the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct will close 10 pm tonight till about 5 am Monday, for work to get ready for the opening of the new 4th Avenue S. offramp (after the Monday morning commute). … More on the calendar!
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