West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
Neighbors brought concerns to tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – exactly what the meeting’s for. A big one involves a situation that’s been reported and discussed here – a house in Upper Morgan linked to a recent arrest in a neighborhood some blocks north. Read on for that, the latest crime trends, updates on recent cases including last night’s search, and more:
Thanks to Bill Bacon for sharing a sunset photo tonight (taken at Lincoln Park)! Looks like more full-color sunsets ahead, because the forecast remains rain-free. If you’re looking for storms – look east. A few thousand miles east.
Five and a half months after ArtsWest revealed the productions comprising its 2012-2013 season (WSB coverage here and here), its season opener is about to hit the playhouse’s West Seattle Junction stage. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is opening night for the Northwest premiere of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” a Tony-nominated musical, directed by Christopher Zinovitch, with musical direction by Kim Dare. In ArtsWest’s announcement last March, it was described as a “comedic audacious mix of historical fact and fiction surrounding America’s controversial seventh president — the man who invented the Democratic Party, drove the Indians west, and ultimately doubled the size of our nation,” with “outrageous comedy, anarchic theatricality, and a rock score.” It runs through October 20th, Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm (with a few exceptions to that schedule, so check here – same link where you can buy tickets online).
Just stopped by Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th SW in downtown White Center) to catch Stefanie and Mike Albaeck and family for a quick photo to mark the popular pizzeria’s 3rd anniversary. (Here’s our 9/18/09 report on partner site White Center Now.) Busy night, which is also good news for the White Center Food Bank, to which Proletariat is donating 30 percent of the night. (WC Food Bank also serves south West Seattle, from SW Myrtle south.) They’re open till 9 pm.
(WSB video from start of last year’s first-ever Beat the Burn 5K – this year it’s at Jack Block Park)
New info today about Beat The Burn, the 5K fundraiser coming up September 30th at Jack Block Park and along the West Seattle waterfront: They point out it’s not ONLY a 5K – it’s also a community festival with everything from food trucks to kayaking to the legendary Bubbleman:
The Port of Seattle Fire Department/Local 1257 Firefighters and the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation would like to invite you to bring the family and join us on Sunday, September 30th at Jack Block Park on the scenic West Seattle Waterfront.
The BEAT THE BURN 5K RUN/WALK event is open to all runners, walkers and family members of all ages. Join us for a fire engine siren start, live music by SLACKER, a local band favorite, health and safety displays, Lumpia World and Sweet Wheels food trucks, entertainment, beer garden, a kid’s area. And don’t miss the Alki Kayak Tours standup paddle board and kayak demonstrations at 11:00 a.m., the Bubbleman at 11:30 a.m. and the Northwest Disaster Search Dogs in action at 12:45. And we’ll have hourly drawings for $100 Gift Cards compliments of Salty’s and a $200 Gift Card from El Gaucho for the first runner across the 5K finish line. And don’t forget to pick-up your 2012 Firefighter Calendar; we’re giving away 100 copies!
Come meet the firefighters at Jack Block Park and join us for a fun outing on the West Seattle waterfront. It’s all for a great cause – to help send young burn survivors ages 7-17 to Camp Eyabsut. Thank you. Register at saveburncamp.org
For another week – till Wednesday 9/26 – you can also register in person at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor).
We hear about coyotes and raccoons all the time, but West Seattle chicken owner Alyssa says you should keep your eyes on the skies:
I live on 35th near Kenyon Hall and have 3 little backyard chickens. I thought I should let everyone know…I had the little chickens free ranging in the yard (Monday) and a hawk literally swooped down and would have taken them if I hadn’t lunged. I was sitting about 10 feet away and saw it coming in my peripheral vision. I knew we had dogs/cats/raccoons/opossums/rats after our chickens, but this one actually surprised me! Of course I didn’t get a picture, but it looked possibly like a cooper’s hawk? It was brown with white streaks on the wings, not too big, maybe 16 inches tall? I have attached a picture of the chickens, it was the little ones it went for — they are only a couple of months old. West Seattle needs scarecrows, I guess??
P.S. In the vein of the “co-existing with coyotes” link we often include in those reports, we have found a “Living with Wildlife: Hawks” link for info from the state, if you’re interested.
Another section of the remaining bumpy stretches of Beach Drive is getting help right now – Atlas to Juneau, as announced by SDOT last week. Traffic is getting through, but one lane at a time, so you may have to stop and wait for a bit. The work is expected to continue till about 7 this evening and then again 8 am-7 pm tomorrow. With this and the section that was repaved back in May, only the section abutting the long-disputed (now settled), slide-prone slope will remain, and the city says that’ll be fixed once the slope work is done (no timetable yet).
We know more today about what’s planned for Fairmount Park Elementary before Seattle Public Schools reopens the closed-since-2007 campus. Last week, it was explained at the school board’s work session about the BEX IV levy (WSB coverage here) that the district planned “an addition” at Fairmount Park, which in turn, administrators said, would eliminate the need to reopen the former Hughes Elementary, currently leased to independent Westside School (WSB sponsor). But we didn’t know the details until this week’s school-board meeting agenda. District documents show it is planned as an eight-classroom addition, and the board will be asked tomorrow night to approve almost a million dollars for its design. It is proposed as an addition to a contract Miller Hayashi Architects already had for design/engineering work to get the school in shape for reopening in the fall of 2014. The district has not said yet what kind of program it plans for the reopened school – regular neighborhood school or something else (such as permanent home of the K-5 STEM school just opened at Boren on Delridge).
Tomorrow marks exactly 31 years since Greggette R. and Dwight K. Guy were wed at a church in Burien. Today – six months and one week after Mrs. Guy was murdered in West Seattle – her husband (above) came from Kent to stand in a South Seattle parking lot with other murder victims’ families, showing support for a new billboard/bus-board campaign. CrimeStoppers and Seattle Police are among the sponsors of “Who Killed Me?”, which will place billboards around the city, showing murder victims’ faces, and imploring people with any information to come forward. Dwight Guy did not speak at today’s media event, but several of those on hand did, often emotionally. (Added – here’s our video of the entire event:)
Mr. Guy’s message, in a conversation with WSB afterward, is the same: Even if it takes years, his wife’s killer can be found and brought to justice. Organizers tell us a billboard will be put up in West Seattle with Mrs. Guy’s photo; they’re checking on the planned location (update – it’ll be on Harbor Avenue near the bridge). The first billboard, unveiled during the media event, highlights three other unsolved killings.
For more on where the Greggette Guy case stands, here’s our detailed followup from last week. P.S. There is one more West Seattle case on SPD’s list of spotlighted unsolved murders in the past 2 years – that of Kaari Higgins, a Fauntlee Hills woman whose January 2011 death was not classified as a homicide till long afterward. Find out more about Ms. Higgins, Mrs. Guy, and the other unsolved-murder victims here.
(Photo by Machel Spence)
Neighborhood crime concerns? Questions for police? Tonight the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council resumes its season of monthly meetings. That’s one of the highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: From our latest day-by-day/night-by-night list: In West Seattle, SDOT announced Beach Drive repaving between Atlas and Juneau would start today, 8 am-7 pm. No closure expected but lane restrictions. On the highways, another southbound 99 closure between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am. And a Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project note – there’ll be work on the surface at 1st/Spokane tonight because the eastbound 1st Avenue South offramp is scheduled to reopen tomorrow morning.
JUDGE SPEAKS TO ROTARY: As previewed here on Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu speaks to the Rotary Club of West Seattle today, noon at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor).
PROLETARIAT PIZZA’S ANNIVERSARY GIFT: Three years ago today, the popular family-owned pizza place opened in downtown White Center, and they’re celebrating by donating 30 percent of tonight’s take to the White Center Food Bank. Hours 4 pm-9 pm.
DROP-IN CHESS: For youth, at High Point Library, starting at 4 pm.
JOIN A DRILL TEAM! The Spinnakers are having an open house at Highland Park Elementary tonight, 6-8 pm. Details here.
EVENING BOOK GROUP: “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez is the featured book this month for the group meeting tonight at High Point Library (35th/Raymond), 6 pm.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: After summer break, this volunteer citizen group is back in session. Local police leadership is there for crime-trend updates and citizen Q/A, so if you have concerns or questions, this is your best chance each month to get them answered directly. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room, right off the parking lot along Webster west of Delridge Way SW.
CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PTSA: The PTA/PTSA meetings for the new school year are under way, and tonight, Chief Sealth’s PTSA kicks off its year, 7 pm in the school library; details in the calendar listing.
NIGHTLIFE: Alauda belly-dancing showcase at 7:30, followed by Baby Ketten Karaoke at 9, at Skylark Café and Club … Open-mike night at The Cask in the Admiral District, 8 pm … Trivia That Rocks at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm …
More on the calendar!
Questions about RapidRide and/or route restructuring, all of which kick in on September 29, just one week from Saturday? Metro is one of the participants scheduled for a Transportation Fair at Greenbridge, 2-4 pm tomorrow, in the Wiley Community Center, 9800 8th SW (just south of Roxbury). Other groups and agencies will be there too, with information about a wide range of transportation options; they’re listed on this flyer.
The Junction is a popular place for wedding photos these days! West Seattleites Chris and Mariko Raynor are announcing their marriage after returning from their long honeymoon in Thailand. Chris is a remodeler and Mariko is a paralegal. Chris says their wedding July 21st was at a chapel in Kent, with the officiant from West Seattle’s Our Lady of Guadalupe, Father Jack Walmesley. Congratulations to the newlyweds!
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