(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
FIRST REPORT, 9:15 PM: Police are rushing to Whale Tail Park and vicinity on Alki after a report of possible shots fired and a large crowd of people fighting. They are trying to track down someone who may have a gun and a Taser, according to witness reports, per the scanner. No report yet if they have found anyone hurt.

9:21 PM: Per the scanner, police are seeking two suspects – one male (black, 16, black/white tennis shoes, white shirt, khaki shorts), one female (black, heavy) – she is reported to have a gun, he is reported to have a Taser.

9:28 PM: Male suspect reported to be in custody, female still being sought. And there is a report that one area house (on Marine, by the park) got a bullet through the window.

9:41 PM: Added (top) photo. We have two people in the area now, including WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says, “Residents who live on the north side of Whale Tail park said they heard a loud argument in the park and then saw a woman repeatedly firing a handgun. The crowd in the park went scrambling.” Police have just confirmed via Twitter that no (injury) victim has been found so far.

9:53 PM: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand says police are searching for evidence (as well as any possible hidden suspects) around the homes nearby and everything in Whale Tail Park, including the restrooms.

Police cars are also driving slowly around the streets in the area as part of the search.

10:03 PM: Our crews have counted six spots that police have marked off after finding shell casings.

10:41 PM: As police wrapped up their search, they told us they’d keep increased patrols in the area for the rest of the night.

11:11 PM NOTE: We’ve added more of Christopher’s images to the story, in spots where they illustrate our original text. The 1st one was published while this still was unfolding; the others, added in the past few minutes.

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: SPD has just posted its summary of what happened, saying it started with an argument between two women, and mentioning one arrest, for “obstructing and a warrant.”

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West Seattle Little League hosts All-Star Tournament this weekend

July 6, 2012 6:22 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Something else big happening in the Alki area tomorrow, along with the Seafair Pirates Landing – a baseball tournament hosted by West Seattle Little League! Thanks to Cami MacNamara for sharing the news:

We are proud to announce the District 7 Little League All-Star Tournament for 11-12 year olds will commence at Bar S [64th & Admiral], beginning this Saturday, July 7 at 10 am!! Come on down to watch some great baseball with your entire family while five teams battle it out in this double-elimination tourney to determine who moves on to the State Championships! West Seattle Little League plays on Sunday at 1 pm.

If you and your kids enjoyed their season at Bar S, this is an event not to be missed! There will be vendors, a 50-50 raffle, and, of course, the comestibles available at the Snack Shack so as to round out that full-body Little League experience. Come on down and join the fun!

Cami adds that WSLL’s Senior Team, ages 15-16, is playing the South Highline Nationals tonight at PacWest Field in Seatac – and the winner will advance to the state Little League Senior Tournament in Mount Vernon. Watch westseattlelittleleague.com for updates (and we’ll update here later, too).

11:30 PM UPDATE: WSLL won that game and is off to the state tournament!

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Rezoning proposed for six acres of West Seattle waterfront

July 6, 2012 4:14 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Six acres of West Seattle waterfront industrial land on Harbor Avenue SW is proposed for a rezone that’s now before the City Council for approval.

It’s the site immediately southeast of the SW Bronson street-end park that in turn is east of the Salty’s on Alki parking lot. The site’s ownership of record is AnMarCo (owned by construction entrepreneur Gary Merlino) and has a history of development proposals, including the Pier 1 controversy of the ’90s, though city records show nothing pending right now – except the rezoning proposal.

Notification signs, including the one shown above, went up this week (thanks to David Hutchinson for the tip) and then the notice – see it here – appeared in the city’s latest Land Use Information Bulletin. Here’s the outline map included in the city’s notice:

The site’s owners want the council to approve rezoning for 275,000 square feet, described as currently zoned Industrial General 2/Urban Industrial, and seeking a change to Industrial Commercial/Urban Stable. This apparently has been in the works a while; we found a document online from last year, from a request to have the shoreline designation changed along the lines of this request, as part of the city’s Shoreline Master Program Update. The document, a letter from the land-use law firm McCullough Hill Leary, representing the property owners, included this statement:

The planned uses for the property would likely be mixed use commercial …

The city’s industrial-zoning designations are explained here; the proposed IC classification is intended for “businesses which incorporate a mix of industrial and commercial activities, including light manufacturing and research and development, while accommodating a wide range of other employment activities.” The “Urban Stable” designation is explained as an “environment” of a Seattle “shoreline district,” with a detailed description in this city ordinance, with its purpose including to “Provide opportunities for substantial numbers of people to enjoy the shorelines by encouraging water-dependent recreational uses and by permitting nonwater dependent commercial uses if they provide substantial public access and other public benefits.”

If approved, this would be the third major rezoning action in West Seattle in recent years, by our count. It’s almost twice the size of the California SW upzoning (between Hinds and Hanford) finalized last fall after four years; there also was a sizable zoning change approved by the City Council last year in The Triangle/east Junction area (map included in this city file).

If you are interested in commenting on the Harbor Avenue rezone proposal, July 18th is listed as the deadline, and you can comment online by using this project-specific form.

The proposal was on the council’s introduction calendar June 25th (scroll down this page), and has been referred to the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee; no date set for a review, so far, but we’ll keep watching the agendas.

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Got fruit you can’t use? City Fruit expands harvest to West Seattle

July 6, 2012 1:30 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

Got one or more fruit trees but unable to pick/use this summer’s crop? City Fruit would love to hear from you, so they can come harvest it and get it to people in need. This year, they’re expanding to West Seattle, as well as serving South Seattle and Phinney Ridge, and they’re looking not only for trees, but also volunteers. From Betsy at CF:

City Fruit promotes the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community and protect the climate. We help tree owners grow healthy fruit, provide assistance in harvesting and preserving fruit, promote the sharing of extra fruit and work to protect urban fruit trees. City Fruit works neighborhood by neighborhood to harvest extra fruit and distribute it to food banks, meals programs, senior centers, schools and others who can use it. In the past three years we have harvested nearly 30,000 lbs of fruit. If you have extra, please join us in this effort.

To donate fruit … If you have unsprayed, healthy fruit to donate, contact City Fruit at westseattle@cityfruit.org. Give us your name, address, type of tree and a way to reach you. We will contact you about scheduling a harvest.

…If you have a fruit tree that has a problem (disease, bad fruit, etc.) and you would like to be on our list of fruit trees needing help, email westseattle@cityfruit.org with the details of your tree.

Lots more information on their website at cityfruit.org – including how to support City Fruit by becoming a member (Betsy says there are perks, including a thank-you discount offered by West Seattle Nursery). Betsy says their local beneficiaries include both area food banks. (Photo courtesy City Fruit)

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West Seattle restaurants: Blackboard Bistro for sale

July 6, 2012 12:30 pm

| 30 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Blackboard Bistro chef/owner Jacob Wiegner confirms his restaurant at 3247 California SW is for sale. The listing’s been online at least a few weeks at websites including commercialmls.com and Craigslist, where a few WSB’ers noticed it (and where the listing says “Seller training available, or seller may stay on as chef”). We contacted Wiegner to ask if he had any comment, and he replied simply, “At this time we can confirm that we are on the market, but that we are business as usual.” Blackboard Bistro opened almost two years ago, in a space that has proven a challenge in recent years – even the original BB-is-opening news release alluded to that – the restaurant that preceded it in the space, Eness, lasted only a few months; it followed Beato, which was there almost two years. But again, BB’s owner says his restaurant will remain open.

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2 for tomorrow: Seafair Pirates Landing; Lucha Libre in South Park

July 6, 2012 9:40 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | South Park | West Seattle news

On Saturday – two big events starring guys in wild outfits! West Seattle at midday, South Park in the evening…

(2008 photo by David Hutchinson)
SEAFAIR PIRATES LANDING: You can make a day of it at Alki Beach, with vendors scheduled to start up around 9:30 am, though the Seafair Pirates themselves aren’t expected before the 11:30 am-12:30 pm window – if you’ve never been before, you’ll want to stake out a spot on the beach (Bathhouse vicinity) and watch the flotilla offshore to see where, when, and how the Pirates will approach and them storm ashore! Live music’s planned and more … details are on the Seafair website.

SOUTH PARK ‘LUCHA LIBRE EN LA CALLE’: The second annual edition of the popular Mexican sport, South Park style, promises to be even bigger than last year:

Our photo from a pre-show demonstration last year shows the luchadores’ (wrestlers) masks – a key part of their outfits – as are the showy moves. Tomorrow’s festivities start with kids’ activities at 3 pm and continue on through the wrestling itself (5:30 pm) – details on our partner site The South Park News. It’s a block party in the 8500 block of 14th Avenue S. (map).

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West Seattle Friday: Road work; nature walk; gardening; skating…

July 6, 2012 7:36 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Friday: Road work; nature walk; gardening; skating…

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

We were up at dawn covering a story for White Center Now when we saw Vashon early riser @sudsymaggie tweet that beautiful photo looking toward the sunrise “behind” West Seattle, from the north Vashon ferry dock. She kindly agreed to share it (thank you!). Now that another sunny day is under way, here’s what’s ahead:

ROAD WORK, BRIDGE CLOSURE: Three things to note today:
–Till 9 am, SDOT is scheduled to have the Admiral Way offramp from the westbound high-rise bridge CLOSED for installation of a temperature sensor (as we first reported here).
–The California/Fauntleroy work we mentioned yesterday – bollixing up the busy intersection at the heart of Morgan Junction – is expected to continue today, so detouring might be wise.
–TONIGHT AND THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to be closed — from 10 pm tonight to 5 am Monday. It’s one of several notable Seattle road closures this weekend, as SDOT explains here.

‘CATCH THE BUG FOR NATURE’: Nature walk at Camp Long (5200 35th SW) – meet at the lodge -10 am, with West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler. Full details here.

KIDS’ GARDEN: Free – bring your kid/s to Village Green Perennial Nursery (WSB sponsor) to learn and have fun, 2-4 pm, 10223 26th SW (more info on this Facebook event page).

COLMAN POOL SCHEDULE CHANGE: Because of a swim meet, the schedule is different again today; the pool won’t open to the public till 3 pm. Changes detailed here.

DROP-IN TAI CHI AT SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN: 4:30 pm – details here. North end of South Seattle Community College campus (6000 16th SW).

ROLLER SKATING AT ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER: 6:45-8:45 pm – the Friday night tradition! More info here.

LIVE MUSIC: Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor; 5612 California SW), 6-8 pm … Barbie Anaka at Salty’s (1936 Harbor SW), 7-10 pm … Trip Like Animals & Dead Man at Skylark Café and Club (3803 Delridge Way SW), 8 pm … Not From Brooklyn and I Will Keep Your Ghost, 9-11 pm at the Heartland Café’s Benbow Room (4210 SW Admiral Way)

POGGIE TAVERN BENEFIT DANCE CONTEST: 9-11 pm, to raise some $ to help the Poggie as it continues recovering from the fire that shut it down for almost a month this spring. Full details in our Thursday preview.

P.S. – EXACTLY ONE WEEK TILL WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST! The huge three-day outdoor party in The Junction starts a week from today. If you haven’t started planning your schedule – which bands to see, where to go when – ALL the info you need is on the official website.

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