West Seattle, Washington
13 Saturday
Tonight for the first time since the murder of 51-year-old Greggette Guy along Beach Drive in West Seattle, we are hearing from her widower, Dwight Guy. He spoke on-camera with Q13 FOX News‘s “Washington’s Most Wanted” anchor/reporter David Rose, who sent us word of their followup, plus the news that the family is now offering a $10,000 reward. Q13’s video clips aren’t embeddable, so we can’t show it to you here, but we can point you to this page on their website to see 
their story with part of the interview; they’re promising more on their next edition of WMW this weekend. Six weeks have now passed since Ms. Guy’s body was found in the water south of Cormorant Cove Park, hours after she parked her car a half-mile south at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint Park, where police have said they believe she was murdered. Dwight Guy tells Q13 FOX in the interview that he reported her missing hours before she was found dead, after realizing that something might be wrong because she hadn’t come home. If you have information about the case, call 800-222-TIPS, or 911. (Our archived coverage of the case is here.)
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Beach Drive Blog reports that a bench in Ms. Guy’s memory will be installed at Emma Schmitz park next week. MONDAY UPDATE: Turns out the bench that’s being installed is in memory of someone else, and BDB has corrected their story.
That half-minute video clip represents the first time we’ve ever seen a uniformed Seattle Police officer demonstrate jump-rope moves. (Even after 30-plus years in the news business, there still are some firsts!)
But we’re getting ahead of the story.
SPD Community Outreach Officer Tomeka Williams was one of the visitors for a special assembly at Highland Park Elementary this afternoon, teaching about pedestrian safety and helping celebrate a new grant to make it a reality:
Right before the assembly, we photographed HP principal Ben Ostrom with SAFE Kids Seattle‘s Dr. Brian Johnston from Harborview Medical Center (bet you guessed that he’s the guy in the white coat!). The check says $25,000, and that’s being added to a different $75,000 grant. Pedestrian safety is REALLY important there because, among other things, the school has multiple arterials nearby – among them, Barton and Trenton. That’s why, besides jumping rope, Officer Williams offered advice including using the “stare face” to make sure a driver sees you, before you walk into the street:
Safety is part of the HPARK slogan through which the principal led his students:
The safety skills will be practiced with “Walking School Bus” events each Wednesday morning next month.
By the way – though she’s not in our visuals and tried to stay “behind the scenes,” it must be noted that one of the people instrumental in making all this happen is Highland Park Elementary parent Rachael Wright, who’s been working on pedestrian-safety issues surrounding the school, and getting grants to address them, in connection with a wide variety of groups and agencies. Congratulations!
This Friday is Metro‘s deadline for comments on the big changes proposed along Route 120 in Delridge. Last night, they took comments in person – via butcher paper, among other methods – during an open house at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; they also are offering an online survey. Even if you’re not a bus rider, you might want to take a look and offer an opinion, because the plan includes “rechannelization” for a stretch of north Delridge Way SW, with bike/bus lanes plus less parking. Here’s how Metro summarizes potential effects of the changes overall:
Bus riders— If you ride Route 120, you’ll have a faster trip and your bus will probably spend less time waiting at busy traffic signals. If your bus stop is planned for closure, you may have to travel farther to get to or from it. Many of the remaining stops will get new amenities such as bus shelters, landing pads, and/or benches.
Drivers— If you drive, you may experience more delays in your evening commute southbound on Delridge Way SW due to the added southbound bike lane and the elimination of on-street parking.
Bike riders— If you bike, you will benefit from the addition of southbound bike lane along Delridge Way SW between SW Oregon Street and SW Andover Street and a northbound shared bus, bike, and off-peak parking lane. You may need to be more alert as you negotiate the shared bus lane with buses, right-turning vehicles, and parked cars.
Neighbors— If you live or own a business along Delridge Way SW between SW Andover Street and SW Oregon Street, you or your customers will have fewer parking options due to the added bike and bus lanes. Parking will be allowed in the bus lane during non-commute hours. See a diagram showing how parking on Delridge will change.
The Delridge/Andover intersection in particular drew some attention while we were at the open house; Metro reps were being asked if they had observed the area’s jam-packed traffic before suggesting that – including the truck traffic bound to and from the Nucor steel plant. There was also discussion centered on the proposed removal of some stops – here’s the list of stops to be closed in West Seattle/White Center:
Delridge Way SW
Northbound (at SW Oregon St)
Southbound (at SW Oregon St)
Northbound (at SW Edmunds St)
Southbound (at SW Edmunds St)
Northbound (at Puget Blvd SW)
Southbound (at Puget Blvd SW)
Southbound (at SW Orchard St)
Southbound (at SW Holden St)16th Avenue SW
Southbound (at SW 110th St)Closing fall 2012
SW Henderson
Westbound (at Delridge Way SW)
26th Ave SW
Northbound (at SW Cambridge St)
Southbound (at SW Cambridge St)
SW Roxbury St
Westbound (at 22nd Ave SW)
Eastbound (at 20th Ave SW)
Some stops are to be moved/added, as well; take a closer look via this map).
As for the rechannelization – the changes are to be made primarily between Andover and Oregon on Delridge, as shown here.
Metro’s website for the proposals says the changes will start as soon as next month (for some of the stop-spacing plans); again, they’ve set Friday as the deadline for comments – use the survey link above, or e-mail haveasay@kingcounty.gov.
P.S. For a neighborhood perspective, North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Amanda Leonard was among the open-house attendees and has published a summary on the NDNC website – see it here.
Two car-crime notes in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon – first, from Erin:
I just wanted to share that my car was ransacked over night. We are (on 31st) between Myrtle and Othello. It seems as if they were just looking for money or valuables as all the contents of the center console were strewn about. Fortunately I didn’t have anything in there worth taking. Oddly, they left their gloves behind – one in the car and one next to the car on the ground. Just want to let everyone know so they remember to take all valuables out of their car.
And we have a car-theft report from an apartment resident at 9th/Kenyon in Highland Park; it was another resident’s car, so no description, but the person who e-mailed us about it says someone was seen potentially casing the area the preceding two nights.
In case you are headed out of West Seattle and toward northbound Highway 99 – there’s a notable backup right now, blamed on a stalled vehicle. (Thanks to Debora for the original tip; SDOT just tweeted an alert, too.)
Today we welcome one of West Seattle’s longest-running businesses, O’Neill Plumbing, as a new WSB sponsor. Here’s what proprietor Tim O’Neill (pictured) would like you to know:
O’Neill Plumbing was founded here in West Seattle in 1917, adjacent to Husky Deli in The Junction.
95 years later, 4th-generation owner Tim O’Neill has 28 years of experience and employs 25 hard-working, talented people and a fleet of trucks to serve not only West Seattle but also the Greater Seattle area as well as the Eastside. O’Neill Plumbing serves residential and commercial properties, including “Emergency 24-Hour Service,” drain/rooter cleaning, water-heater repairs and replacement, whole-house re-pipes, and state-of-the-art “Trenchless” underground pipe repairs and replacement.
We are proud to be longtime members of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Master Builders Association, Better Business Bureau, and are “Top Of Class” on Angie’s List with more than 450 positive customer referrals.
O’Neill Plumbing customers can visit us @ www.oneillplumbing.com and take advantage of our online coupons. To reach O’Neill Plumbing by phone, call 206-932-5283.
We thank O’Neill Plumbing for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Likely just a coincidence, but on the same morning that the Seattle City Council invited citizens to come talk with them next month about the budget process, its president was reading a storybook about financial smarts to a group of local students. Council President Sally Clark visited West Seattle Elementary this morning as part of “MoneySmart Week” (explained here) and read from “Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock,” by former FDIC Chair Sheila Blair, about twins with very different savings habits.
And this gives us a chance to mention that West Seattle Elementary has just received some noteworthy praise from Olympia. The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction recently audited schools and visited WS Elementary, 2 years into its improvement plan, on April 12th. As a result of this visit, WSES received this “exit note”:
West Seattle Elementary has done a stellar job of transforming not only the school but the neighborhood as well. Not only has this staff and community dotted all the ‘i’s’ and crossed all the ‘t’s’ in terms of compliance, they have made a positive impact on student learning and the community at large. They have moved from compliance to commitment. Students are learning (the school moved from Level 1 to Level 3 in one year) and families are engaged in their students’ academics.
This visit was part of the Consolidated Program Review, explained here.
Speaking of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (coming up May 12th) – Northwest Center has long been the official WSCGSD partner for those interested in donating items they don’t sell, either by dropping them off afterward or scheduling Big Blue Truck pickups for the following week. Today, NW Center has big news: Starting next Monday, its Friday/Saturday/Sunday Junction dropoff location at 44th/Edmunds (next to the Chase drive-thru) will expand to 7 days a week, 9 am-5 pm. (That means West Seattle will have two options for daily staffed dropoff spots, since Goodwill just opened one, as reported here earlier this month.) Here are the lists of what NW Center takes, and what they don’t take. (WSB photo from 2011)
We KNOW you have something to say about how the city should spend its money. So even though none of these meetings is in West Seattle, we’re sharing the heads-up about a three-meeting invite from the City Council for the first round of community conversation in the process of hashing out the next budget:
Join the Seattle City Council for one of three conversations in May about the City budget and community priorities. Participants will engage City Councilmembers and neighbors in conversation centered on five thought-provoking questions about the future of our City.
North Seattle
Monday, May 7, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way North, College Center, Room 1161Central Seattle
Monday, May 14, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Seattle Central Community College, 1701 Broadway, Broadway Edison Building, Room BE1110South Seattle
Monday, May 21, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave South
All sorts of city budget background is available via this council webpage.
Just before midnight tonight, registration ends and mapmaking begins for our 8th annual edition of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (fifth year that WSB has coordinated/presented it). Just a few sales away from 200 right now – all sizes, all neighborhoods, all on Saturday, May 12th, from 9 am-3 pm. The map will be available a week in advance, but if you don’t get your sale signed up by tonight, you won’t be on it, so if you’re planning to participate and haven’t yet registered … here’s the form. (P.S. One more reminder for people who want to be part of a group site because they don’t have the room or the volume for their own sale: Check with Hotwire Online Coffeehouse or C & P Coffee Company [both WSB sponsors] to see if they have spaces left!)
From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
VIADUCT/99 CLOSURE TONIGHT: Again tonight, Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct will close overnight SOUTHBOUND between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge. 9 pm-5 am.
METRO CHANGES ON COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA: Following last week’s public hearing, the proposed Metro changes for September – many of them affecting West Seattle routes – are back before the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee, 9:30 am, council chambers downtown (agenda here; more info here).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FEEDBACK! Tonight’s the 3rd anniversary celebration at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor). From their website:
We have the Balloons of Mystery, cake, music by DJ Hairball, and a one-night only Fresh Sheet sneak peek of our new spring/summer menu courtesy of Chef Wade, and a few surprises!
Dinner, drinks, revelry, stop by for one or all of the above, 6451 California SW.
K-5 STEM AT BOREN DESIGN TEAM: We’re told some big decisions are expected at tonight’s meeting of the community/district team working on the new public school that’s opening in West Seattle this fall. 6:15 pm; the meetings are now at Madison Middle School (45th/Spokane).
COLLEGE FUNDING WORKSHOP: Whatever age your child/ren are, it’s not too soon or too late to plan for how to pay for college. A free workshop at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW) tonight, 6:30-7:30 pm, might help. More details and RSVP info here.
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Monthly meeting for HPAC, 7 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club (whose Julie Schickling, just honored as Volunteer of the Year, will be celebrated, among other agenda items), 12th/Holden.
ACADEMIC FAIR AND OPEN HOUSE AT HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL: 7-8 pm, details here (4456 42nd SW).
OPEN MIKE #1: At C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), the monthly PoetryBridge event features an open mike for poems and stories after readings by Cara Mbaye and Tom Nivision.
OPEN MIKE #2: At Mind Unwind in the Admiral District, Wednesday night is open-mike night, 9 pm (2206 California SW).
More on the calendar!
School fundraiser season isn’t over yet – we have word of one happening this Friday on behalf of the PTA at Sanislo Elementary, “the small school with big ideas.” Matt shared this invitation:
Sanislo Elementary is a small, culturally diverse West Seattle public school that likes to have a good time. This Friday we will be hosting a Benefit Bash at the Highland Park Improvement Club.
*Admission is free (any donations will be gratefully accepted), and doors are open to the public (21 and over).
*Live music by Seattle’s own Roy Kay Trio
*Doors open at 6:30, music starts around 8:30
*There will be a very small silent auction, games and prizes, a 50-50 raffle, and a wine raffle.
*Proceeds will support education enrichment programs at Sanislo.
HPIC is at 12th/Holden.
The three finalists for Seattle Public Schools superintendent are visiting this week, each one in the spotlight for a day, including group media interviews. The first spotlight came on Tuesday, for José Banda, from Anaheim, California. Above, unedited SPS video of one of his 3 quarter-hour-long group interviews (partly conducted in Spanish, in which he is fluent); here are reports from two of the participants in today’s interviews, Seattle Times (WSB sponsor) reporter Brian M. Rosenthal, here; Seattle Schools Community Forum writer Melissa Westbrook, here. (The Times also profiled Banda, here.) Today, finalist Steven Enoch, from San Ramon, California, will go through the same routine, and we hope to have video and links here again late tonight or early tomorrow. To tell the School Board what you think about any of the candidates, you’re invited to e-mail schoolboard@seattleschools.org.
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