day : 25/06/2012 13 results

11:06 PM: The day’s second “assault with weapons” call for local police/fire. This time, they are still trying to sort out, after about 10 minutes, what, if anything, has actually happened. A caller claimed there had been some kind of fight involving knives near the Super 24 store in the 5400 block of Delridge, but so far, per radio traffic, police haven’t found any sign of it, nor any victim(s). We’re continuing to monitor.

11:15 PM: Still no word of any victims being found – the call has been “closed” on the Fire Department’s 911 log – but police are still searching for suspects reported to be armed with knives.

Federal coyote hunter in West Seattle? Seola Beach encounter

June 25, 2012 9:59 pm

| 103 COMMENTS

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

That’s Seola Beach Drive in southernmost West Seattle, a street that first leads through a ravine, and then to a small beach community. It’s where one WSB’er had an encounter last night that might portend the arrival of federal coyote hunters in West Seattle, from an agency that reportedly has killed a million coyotes, among other animals, and come under increasing scrutiny as a result. We are still investigating – but on the chance that someone else has had a similar encounter, we wanted to share his story, and the results of our first followup.

Share This

Block Watch Captains Network meeting Tuesday: Get ready for Night Out!

June 25, 2012 8:50 pm

| Comments Off on Block Watch Captains Network meeting Tuesday: Get ready for Night Out!

| Crime | Preparedness | Safety | West Seattle news

Just days after their first-ever Appreciation Party (WSB coverage here), the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network is indeed having a regular meeting tomorrow night, 6:30-8 pm at the Southwest Precinct (if you come early, around 6 pm, there’s leftover Zippy’s root beer and Full Tilt Ice Cream from the party). The main topic: Getting ready for this year’s Night Out crime-prevention/community-building Block Parties. WSBWCN leaders explain, “If you want packets to pass out at your Night Out, you are welcome to come stuff your materials during the meeting. There will be bags for kids and adults with information about crime prevention and emergency preparedness.” P.S. Register your block for Night Out by going to this SPD webpage.

Share This

Followup: 2 more West Seattle schools get portables, 2 more to go

June 25, 2012 5:18 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Since last night’s road-closing delivery of a two-classroom portable to Lafayette Elementary, and the sighting of another one on its way to West Seattle Elementary today (above), we checked with Seattle Public Schools to see which other schools will – and won’t – get portables. The district confirms, for starters, what a commenter said after we mentioned which schools had city permits pending for portables: Gatewood Elementary and Pathfinder K-8 are NOT getting them after all. SPS spokesperson Tom Redman tells WSB, “Processing and review of permits takes 6 to 8 weeks. Thus, SPS filed for permits prior to the completion of the open enrollment period. Actual 2012-13 enrollment data indicated that portables are not needed at Gatewood and Pathfinder.” With that, and with the deliveries last night and today, our area has two more to go, as listed by Redman:

Schmitz Park Elementary
2 single portables = 2 classrooms
Tentative Schedule:
-1st portable (in halves on two trailers) scheduled to arrive 6/28 Thursday early morning and the 2nd portable (in halves on two trailers) scheduled to arrive 6/28 Thursday late morning/early afternoon

Chief Sealth International HS
2 double portables = 4 classrooms
Waiting to be moved from the south side of Thistle Street (now at SW Sports Complex) onto the campus
Time and date of move to be determined by SDOT – will schedule with contractor

Sealth principal Chris Kinsey told us earlier this month that 9th-grade language-arts and history teachers will work in their portable classrooms.

Share This

‘Assault with weapons’ call on 18th SW

June 25, 2012 3:54 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:54 PM: In case you are wondering about the big emergency response to 18th SW on Puget Ridge – the call is “assault with weapons” but Seattle Police say it’s believed to be self-inflicted.

5 PM UPDATE: As you can see in our photo above, this happened at the end of a dead-end street. No traffic effects; a few police and fire units were still on scene.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is thinking of or threatening self-harm, the 24-hour Crisis Clinic hotline for King County is 206-461-3222.

Share This

From SPD’s crime-prevention coordinator: Sex-offender notifications

June 25, 2012 2:32 pm

| 24 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

The WSB Crime Watch page has long had the “sex offender lookup” link in its resource section – but unless you check it frequently, you won’t necessarily know if a registered sex offender has moved into your neighborhood. Today, for the first time, we received e-mail from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon listing Level 3 sex offenders that have recently moved into the area. We’re sharing it, along with SPD’s words of caution that this is not meant to be an alarm-sounding, but an FYI:Read More

Share This

West Seattle scene: Busy morning on Puget Sound

June 25, 2012 1:54 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Lura on Beach Drive shared that photo from a busy moment in central Puget Sound around 10:20 this morning – while a new wildlife platform bobbed in the foreground, the background included a state ferry, an aircraft carrier – identified by Beach Drive Blog as the USS John C. Stennis – and the Tor Viking II, yet another of the ships that have converged on this area as part of the Shell offshore drilling flotilla that’s heading north sometime soon with the two drilling rigs that have been getting work done at Vigor Shipyard on Harbor Island. According to a document published in the Federal Register last Friday, Tor Viking (in Everett right now) is one of the 17 vessels for which a 500-yard safety zone has been ordered – including the drill rigs/ships Noble Discoverer and Kulluk – once they head north. (The Greenpeace Esperanza, which had been here for a while to monitor the potential departure, left this area some days ago.)

Share This

City approves land-use permit for DESC’s Delridge project

June 25, 2012 10:49 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| DESC Delridge project | Development | West Seattle news

(Updated post-Design Review renderings shown at May’s advisory-council meeting)
One year after we first reported on DESC’s 66-apartment Delridge Supportive Housing project, meant to get 66 homeless people off the streets, the plan has just cleared another hurdle. Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin from the city includes the decision granting a land-use permit (aka Master Use Permit) for the project at 5444 Delridge Way SW. Here’s the decision; the deadline for filing an appeal is July 9th. A community advisory committee continues to meet to discuss issues related to the project; its next meeting is scheduled for July 12th.

Share This

West Seattle firms win regional Remodeling Excellence Awards: 3 to Ventana, 1 to Weitzel

June 25, 2012 10:45 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Just hours after a soggy morning of tabling at the rain-shortened Morgan Junction Community Festival on Saturday, Anne Higuera of Ventana Construction was on top of the world during a sunny evening, with husband/business partner Clarence Higuera and staffers as their company (a longtime WSB sponsor) won three regional Remodeling Excellence Awards during a ceremony at the Space Needle. You see Anne and Clarence in the photo above, with Arne Granberg, lead carpenter for the winning “whole house remodel” project. One other West Seattle construction company was a winner in this year’s awards – Weitzel Construction won a REX Award too. Here’s the full list of all 24 regional winners – and here’s more on the WS winners:

VENTANA’S AWARDS
*“Rebuild Excellence: Residential Whole House/Rebuild, more than $400,000” for a project described as “Goodbye, ’80s; hello, contemporary cool” – see it here
*“Major Remodel Excellence: Residential Partial House/Addition, more than $200,000” for a project described as “Goodbye, 1970s; hello, 1929” – see it here
*“Bath Excellence: Bath, more than $75,000” for a project described as “Goodbye, windowless cave; hello, relaxation” – see it here

WEITZEL’S AWARD
*“Outdoor Living Excellence: Entry/Porch/Deck, more than $40,000” for an outdoor space with full kitchen and even a wood-fired pizza oven

Share This

Delridge Day updates: Festival adds food-truck roundup

June 25, 2012 10:06 am

| Comments Off on Delridge Day updates: Festival adds food-truck roundup

| Delridge | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

A food-truck roundup is the latest addition to the lineup for this year’s Delridge Day, now less than two months away. Just in from organizers:

The Delridge Day Planning Committee is on a roll, with several updates for the Delridge Day Festival on August 18th from 11 am-3 pm.

The newest feature to the festival is the Delridge Day Chow Down. It is the first Delridge Food Truck roundup, set to feed festivalgoers. The trucks are: Athena’s (Greek), Jemil’s Big Easy (Cajun), and Full Tilt Ice Cream!

More ahead:Read More

Share This

Alki couple’s estate gives $1 million for new medic units, more

June 25, 2012 9:10 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The legacy of a couple who spent their retirement years in West Seattle will live on, thanks to more than $1,000,000 in donations announced by their family today.

The donations from the estate of William C. Sanders and Mildred Krahmer Sanders, both longtime Boeing workers, include money for the Seattle Fire Department to buy two new medic units, and for Research to Prevent Blindness to build a lab for advanced eye research.

Read on for more about the couple and their gifts:Read More

Share This

West Seattle Monday: What’s up today/tonight

June 25, 2012 8:34 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Monday: What’s up today/tonight

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Sunday afternoon photo from Lincoln Park’s north beach)
Happy Monday! Remember that school is now out for just about everyone, so while on one hand that means no “school zone” speed limits, it also means, be extra careful for kids of all ages out and about. Meantime, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:

TRAFFIC ALERTS: No bridge or Viaduct closures tonight, but during the day today, there will be some restrictions NB/SB through the 4th Avenue South/S. Spokane St. intersection, on the surface, related to the bridge-widening project. Details on our combined list of this week’s closures, broken out day by day.

MONDAY ARTISTS: If you’re a watercolorist – even a beginning one – you’re invited to check out Monday Artists, a group that meets Mondays, 9:30 am-noon, at Island View Apartments across from West Seattle High School (3000 block California SW). Details here.

MADISON SIGNBOARD COMMITTEE: As previewed here last night, tonight’s the first meeting of a committee deciding whether to recommend a zoning “departure” (exception) for installation of a digital illuminated signboard on the east facade of Madison Middle School’s gym. 6:30 pm, school library (45th/Spokane).

NIGHTLIFE: At West 5, it’s “Flat Earth Society” DJ Night on Mondays – tonight at 9, Catbutter spins … Mondays are also Pub Quiz nights at Shadowland, 8 pm.

WADING POOLS THAT *WOULD* BE OPEN … whenever the weather starts getting into the sunny/70 mode, Lincoln Park would have already had its opening day (it’s the one open every day, weather permitting), and today would be opening day for the Hiawatha pool. More info here.

STILL SEEKING SUMMER-CAMP OPTIONS? Over the weekend, we added to our list of local camp programs that have said they still have room. Some start this week – others, later in the summer – see the list here.

Share This

Followup: After rain delay, finishing touches at Colman Pool

June 25, 2012 7:00 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

When we toured the almost-done Colman Pool renovations last Wednesday with Seattle Parks‘ project manager Garrett Farrell (here’s the resulting story), he insisted we would want to come back to see the final phase of work – labor-intensive hand application of new plaster over almost every square inch of the pool’s surface. And he was right – it was quite a sight when we returned Sunday afternoon. Contractor Orca Pacific‘s president Aaron Kimura told us they had lost a day and a half to the summer downpour – they could have worked through a light rain, he said, but the heavy, steady rain of Friday afternoon and much of Saturday would have washed away their work. However, they are still on track for next Saturday’s opening. It’s a one-of-a-kind pool, as he put it, and a one-of-a-kind jobsite, so we have more photos after the jump:

Share This