West Seattle, Washington
25 Wednesday
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
Though the weather is still expected to be blustery, we’re no longer under a special weather alert, so it shouldn’t be THAT blustery.
WEEKEND CLOSURE REMINDER: As we get going with Friday, we also want to remind you about the Highway 99/Viaduct closure this weekend, and the “Timber Bridge” traffic revision that will follow. As WSDOT explains it on the project page:
4:30 am Saturday, Feb. 23 through 5 am Monday, Feb. 25 -Southbound SR 99 will be closed between the Battery Street Tunnel and S. Nevada Street. Northbound SR 99 will be closed between S. Nevada Street and the West Seattle Bridge.
Monday morning, Feb. 25, the overpass reopens with one lane southbound and two lanes northbound. Traffic stays in this configuration through June 2014.
Here’s the plan for this weekend (click image to get full-size PDF):
The ramp project at the east end of the West Seattle Bridge does NOT have a closure this weekend, but does have one the following weekend.
(Screengrab from City Light map, at peak of outage)
4:28 AM: Another power outage in High Point (thanks to the two residents who just texted us). Not sure how long ago it started, but it’s just appeared on the Seattle City Light map; about 1,000 homes/businesses (aka “customers”) affected. Parts of Gatewood and Morgan Junction are involved again this time too. A similar, though larger (3,200+ customers) area lost power on Wednesday morning; some were out for up to two hours.
4:43 AM: We’re getting reports the power is back, at least for some. Not yet reflected on the SCL map.
5:02 AM: The map now shows the outage over. Since much if not all of the same area was part of the Wednesday morning outage, we’ll follow up with City Light later this morning.
(From left, Lt. Pierre Davis; WSCPC president Richard Miller)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
While the Seattle Police Department‘s in-the-works surveillance cameras have drawn lots of attention lately (WSB coverage archive here), another technological tool that’s about to be deployed came to light at this week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: New data-crunching technology to be used for “predictive policing” – anticipating crime before it happens, to make sure resources are deployed in the right places.
Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis mentioned the new system almost in passing while answering questions about various neighborhood trouble spots. He described it as something that will enable officers on the street to get “cheat sheets” as crime trends are crunched on a daily basis; other departments around the country use it and in some areas have experienced a significant reduction in crime.
Lt. Davis told WSB after the meeting that the system is expected to be in use around March 24. It’s known as PredPol for short – that’s the name he used, and that’s even the company’s handle on Twitter – but the company that sells the technology is named Predictive Policing. It originated with the Los Angeles Police Department, according to its website, which describes how it works.
The city website includes a brief mention in a news release about last week’s update on the SPD 20/20 project, with which Lt. Davis has been closely involved.
Ahead, what else he mentioned to the council, as well as other toplines from the meeting:Read More
Just announced by West Seattle Hi-Yu: This year’s queen! From Regina Arceo-Schulz:
Congratulations to April Davis, 2013 West Seattle Hi-Yu Queen. She’s a senior at Bishop Blanchet and an alumni of Holy Rosary School. Some of the activities she enjoys are volleyball, dancing, singing, and working with children. Mark your calendar to see her crowned: West Seattle Hi-Yu Coronation and Auction Event, Friday, May 10, at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
P.S. Hi-Yu can always use more volunteer help – details here.
(Image courtesy KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, used with their permission)
“Stray” gunfire hit a car in an alley off Delridge, according to this report published on SPD Blotter:
A woman’s vehicle window was shot out as she pulled into her apartment complex tonight in West Seattle.
At approximately 6:50 p.m. officers responded to a 911 call of shots fired in the alley behind the 8400 block of Delridge Way SW. A woman who was pulling into her apartment complex had her vehicle’s window shot out but was not injured. Preliminary investigation indicates that the woman’s vehicle was struck by stray rounds and that she was not targeted by the gunfire. The suspect(s) remain at large.
Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the involved suspect(s) is asked to call 911 or Seattle Police and refer to this incident. Anonymous tips are welcome.
You might recall our note January 29th about TV/film actor Thomas Haden Church sighted at Admiral Safeway, while the film “Lucky Them” was shooting in West Seattle. It’s coming back, according to notes from WSB’ers both north and south who both had received visits from production-crew members alerting them to the impending shoots in the next few days: One on Alki, one in Gatewood/Sunrise Heights. So if you see a film crew in either of those areas – that’s what they’re here for. Here’s the iMDB page for the movie, which is directed by Seattle’s Megan Griffiths and also stars Toni Collette.
4:55 PM: Checked out the police/fire response at 44th/Alaska in The Junction – not a major incident but since we’ve received a few inquiries, here’s what was happening: A fight at the bus stop. Two people had to be separated. No major injuries that we are aware of, but we are doublechecking; SFD medics cleared the scene fairly quickly.
ADDED 9 PM: Here’s what a witness tells WSB she saw and heard (and reported to police):
Two teens were heading north in the alley behind Pharmaca, when a man standing with his bike yelled out: “You might want to use the bathroom next time.” The boys ran to the man – charged – I thought they were his sons, but they edged up right to his face and began yelling at him. Then both boys (15-17; one white, one maybe Asian/Native American) began swinging at the man. I called 911, and the RapidRide security guys showed up. The youth headed West; possibly caught a bus. Lots of onlookers. The man said he was fine, was catching a bus to work with his bike, and we were all shocked by the brazen attack.
Who wouldn’t love faster Internet access – if affordable? The cautiously excited reaction on Tuesday was no surprise after we published word that Mayor McGinn announced in his “State of the City” speech that part of the West Seattle Junction area had been added to the planned mega-fast “demonstration” service planned by Gigabit Squared. We promised a followup, and talked this afternoon with Mark Ansboury from Gigabit Squared and the City of Seattle’s Chief Technology Officer Erin Devoto. Here’s what else we found out:
As we’ve noted in previous coverage, the “100th day of school food drive challenge” originated at Arbor Heights Elementary – where teacher Marcia Ingerslev just shared photos and this report on what they collected for the West Seattle Food Bank:
We collected 501 items of food. Rooms 16 (Ingerslev), 12 (Salter), 10 (Fisk), and 24 (Kennewick) participated. Thank you to everyone who participated. We will have to do this again next year. Maybe we can benefit the White Center Food Bank.
Here are just some of the students who took part at AH:
Even if you/your school didn’t participate, you can help local food banks any time – there’s information about how to donate money and/or food on the websites of both – westseattlefoodbank.org and whitecenterfoodbank.org.
This summer, you might be asked to vote for a new King County Parks levy, if the County Council agrees with a recommendation from the County Executive. Here are details on the levy that the county says would cost you $64/year if you have a home worth $340,000:
Acting upon recommendations from a citizen task force, King County Executive Dow Constantine today sent the King County Council a proposed a six-year, $360 million Parks Levy for the August primary that would enable voters to replace two parks levies that will expire at the end of this year.
“This measure is essential to taking care of the extraordinary network of parks and trails our parents and grandparents have left us, and keeping them clean, safe and open,” said Executive Constantine.
“Preserving our last, best places has been a priority for this region for several decades,” he added. “This measure would help us protect areas nearly the size of Discovery Park every year for the next six years.”
If approved by voters, the measure would fund maintenance and operation of King County’s 200 parks, 175 miles of regional trails, and 26,000 acres of open space. It would also:
More results from the “100th Day of School Food Drive Challenge” started by Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Marcia Ingerslev and picked up by several other schools/classes in West Seattle! Jennifer Dempsey shares the photo with this report:
Ms. Schwendeman’s first-grade class at Gatewood Elementary collected over 100 items for the food bank and will be taking a field trip to deliver them soon.
We’ve also published reports from Cometa Playschool (here) and Holy Rosary School (here). Anybody else! editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
Thanks to the WSB’ers who tipped us to the impending closure of Pioneer Coffee on Alki. To get details, we talked with the shop’s manager, Lisa Del Rosario. She tells WSB that after five years, Pioneer Coffee is doing well – but recently found out that its lease will not be renewed. They have to be out by the end of March. No word yet what will take over the space (no permit filings so far), but the folks at Pioneer are asking you for help: They are asking for ideas of where they might move – sooner rather than later, so they can transfer permits rather than apply for them all over again. They’ve built up a steady clientele for both coffee and afternoon/evening beer and wine, and say they love their loyal customers and hate the thought of leaving Alki and leaving them behind. Right now, they are planning a going-away party for late March, as a way of thanking those beloved customers; if they find a new location sooner, she says, it will be a grand-opening party. If you have a location suggestion – particularly in the Alki area – please e-mail Lisa at lisadelro@msn.com or call the café – 206-937-0920.
Thanks to Jason for the photo of the salvage crew arriving off Beach Drive to try to clean up what remains of the trimaran Nunga Nunga Nue (here’s its backstory), eight days after it first got into trouble in the area; we reported yesterday on the start of cleanup. Beach Drive Blog has updates, and we’ll be checking out the scene too. ADDED: Literally one minute after we published this, Maud sent this photo:
More to come.
ADDED 10:26 AM: The crew that came in by water says they’ll likely be working till noon or so:
Then, what remains will be evaluated.
As noted by BDB’s “Scupper” in comments on another thread, this is being done in conjunction with the state’s Derelict Vessel Removal Program, funded by surcharges on vessel licenses. We talked about it with the DNR the other day; they say that while it can be costly, it’s costlier to let sunken boats and debris like this damage or destroy coastal and underwater habitat.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing the photo of the first Canada goslings spotted off Harbor Avenue this year – earlier than usual. Be careful in the area – the families cross the road! Meantime, here are highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BE AN ORCHARD STEWARD: This is the second week of the Community Orchard of West Seattle‘s new season of weekly Thursday afternoon meetups, 3-5 pm, north side of the South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus. Details here.
THE WHALE TRAIL’S 2ND ORCA TALK: It’s been more than 7 years since our resident orcas were listed as endangered; are they recovering? NOAA’s Lynne Barre is tonight’s guest for the 2nd talk in The Whale Trail‘s series, 6:30 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), with Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey and tox-ick org’s “Diver Laura” James on hand too. Suggested donation $5.
SEATTLE POLICE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS: The Alki Community Council board will hear from Seattle Police about the cameras that were installed, unannounced, a month ago. Here’s our preview from last night, and our coverage archive. It’s a briefing, not a hearing, but the public is welcome, 7 pm at Alki UCC (62nd/Hinds).
SOUTHWEST TEEN LIFE CENTER ADVISORY COUNCIL: Get involved with the center and its activities as a community participant with the advisory council – or, just stop by the meeting to see what’s happening. 7 pm, 2801 SW Thistle.
NIGHTLIFE … comedy at The Benbow Room, live music at venues including Angelina’s, DJ at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), pub quiz at A Terrible Beauty … see all the listings on our calendar.
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
Good morning! As we head toward the start of the commute, KING 5 is reporting a backup on 99 south of the West Seattle Bridge – (update) it’s because of a crash on East Marginal Way. Here’s the 99 camera from the 1st Avenue South Bridge:
Looking ahead – if you missed the announcement late yesterday, the Delridge/Trenton intersection closure is now CANCELED for this weekend, but the Highway 99 closure is still on (beginning early Saturday).
8:02 AM UPDATE: The East Marginal Way problem is still backing up traffic south of West Seattle, says WSDOT:
If going NB into Seattle, take I-5 to Airport Wy rather than NB 509 and NB 99. Only 1 lane open on E Marg Way at Orcas.
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 21, 2013
Four years ago, our area’s State Sen. Sharon Nelson (D-Maury Island) was hailed for successfully pushing payday-lending reform. Today, she issued a statement warning that a new bill, SB 5312, passed by the Senate, could bring back that type of high-interest loan:
The new payday-lending scheme that passed off the Senate floor today will ensure that middle class families and military personnel can once again be trapped in a spiral of debt.
In 2009, we passed payday lending reform. It put safeguards on a predatory lending product, allowing borrowers to make reasonable payments and not end up buried in high-interest loans.
But the payday industry is back, marketing this new consumer installment loan as having a ‘36 percent interest rate.’ In reality, these loans include massive fees and penalties that take the rate as high as 220 percent. As a former banker, I’m confident that if a money lender can’t make a profit at 45 percent interest, as allowed in existing law, they have a failed business model.
As a legislator, I am shocked that a majority of my colleagues in the Senate voted to sidestep effective protections for Washington families and instead put high-interest lenders back in charge of people’s lives.
The bill, which you can read in its entirety here, passed the State Senate 30-18 today. Its companion House Bill 1657 is still in committee.
(Camera installation across from Salty’s, on inland side of the street)
We promised we would publish this separately as soon as we confirmed the information: As noted during our live reporting on this afternoon’s City Council committee discussion of the Seattle Police-led, federally funded surveillance cameras, one of the key people on the project, SPD’s Det. Monty Moss, is coming to Alki for a meeting tomorrow night. We have confirmed with organizers that it’s the Alki Community Council‘s board meeting, 7 pm at Alki UCC (62nd/Hinds), and while it’s not an official public hearing, nor a town-hall meeting (SPD promises “big” meetings at some point in the future), the public is welcome.
Two updates from Beach Drive. First, the debris that once comprised a hand-built trimaran:
When we went by at midday today to find out the latest, we saw that boom around the wreckage. Bryan Flint from the state Department of Natural Resources tells WSB, “The containment boom was placed by the contractor to keep all the pieces in place. There is no petroleum leaking. The contractor was picking up the smaller pieces today and will be moving the bigger pieces tomorrow. If everything goes well they should have it all removed by tomorrow afternoon.” If you’re just tuning in to this saga, the debris are what’s left of a home-built trimaran that was given away at Shilshole; the man who took it wanted to tow it to Tacoma but got into trouble off West Seattle last week. The trimaran started breaking up in the water on the south side of the Harbor West Condos in the 3700 block of Beach Drive. After days of various travails, and with community help, the owner got his smaller power boat out of the water yesterday and towed it away on land (no sign of him, his van, or the small boat when we went by today), leaving behind the big-boat wreckage. The state says they always try to recover the costs of handling a mess like this, but they aren’t very hopeful, as the man’s reported lack of financial resources is partly what led to the problems in the first place.
Meantime, Cormorant Cove city-owned beach on the north side of Harbor West has another “CLOSED” sign up:
(Photo shared by Jodi)
That’s because of the building’s ongoing sewage leak, not believed to be related to the boat trouble (according to residents with whom we’ve spoken), but officially reported to the city over the weekend while all that was unfolding. Ingrid Goodwin from Seattle Public Utilities tells WSB, “SPU environmental compliance inspectors are investigating the leak to determine how much sewage may have leaked or is still leaking. Some of things they look at is how many breaks are in the line and how long the line may have been leaking. These are all questions we’ll need to work with the property owner to obtain answers, therefore it will take more time to determine the volume. Having said that, our main and immediate focus is working with the property owner to ensure that the broken line is repaired correctly as soon as possible. With a leak of this nature, we typical allow up to 10 days for the property owner to fix the problem, but that can vary depending on the case.”
Thanks to Jason, who just called our attention to the Facebook announcement that Car2Go is committing to West Seattle expansion. No date is mentioned; we’ll be contacting the company to ask, but in case you hadn’t seen it there, we’re noting it here, as its recent arrival in the city generated lots of buzz – and disappointment that West Seattle wasn’t part of the original plan.
SDOT says the forecast looks bad so they are postponing the Delridge-Trenton intersection repaving for the second consecutive weekend. (Last weekend, the forecast looked bad – but the weather didn’t live down to it.)
(2/13/13 WSB photo by Katie Meyer; scene of robbery that led to Willis’s arrest)
46-year-old Paul Eugene Willis – the man arrested in connection with six recent armed robberies in West Seattle, White Center, and vicinity – is now charged with three counts of first-degree robbery. 
Partner site White Center Now had first word of the robbery spree in January; then we learned the same suspect was also believed to be responsible for both recent holdups of the Smoke and Beverage Shop at 35th and Roxbury, the second of which led to his arrest, reported here last Friday (when we also reported that he served prison time for other holdups on Roxbury – including the same 76 station he allegedly recently robbed). The charging documents exhaustively detail the detective work that led to Willis’s arrest – from studying similarities in the robberies’ M.O., to discovering a certain vehicle on surveillance footage. We’ll summarize as soon as we can, but wanted to get word out about the charges. Willis remains in jail, with bail set at half a million dollars, and arraignment scheduled in early March. (Mug shot is from state Department of Corrections, taken in 2006; they tell us he’s been out since 2008 after serving time for those earlier robberies.)
(TOPLINE: Public discussion promised – starting with Alki Community Council board meeting Thursday night; scroll to end of story)
2:05 PM: We’re at City Hall for the City Council’s Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee briefing/discussion on the Seattle Police surveillance-camera/”wireless mesh” network first brought to light here three weeks ago (archived coverage here). In advance of the meeting, which is about to begin, two documents were added to the agenda today, one including more background detail on the federal-grant-funded $5 million project. Here’s here’s the background document; here’s the PowerPoint intended to illustrate a few of its points. The meeting is just getting under way. You can watch live here – or here:
(Editor’s note: The archived video from the meeting is now embedded above)
First – public comment. First up: A woman who says she wants to share “lessons we have learned” using security cameras in the International District. She says that the cameras installed there (part of a private network) have helped bolster safety and security in the area and provided evidence that will stand up in court. She says they only show the street in front of whatever building they’re installed at. The second speaker says she is a former Alki resident now living on Magnolia, and she is concerned about terrorist attacks via water. She is in favor of 24/7 surveillance and thinks “it’s a miracle” there hasn’t been a terrorist attack yet.
Third speaker from Stand Up America says that he is concerned about terrorists – “the terrorists sitting at (the council) table.” He accuses the government of terrorism and “ridiculous behavior.” He adds, basically shouting, “You guys are eroding our civil rights … don’t stand against the people, stand up for the people.” Councilmember Harrell has accused him of a “showboating tactic” after the speaker called him “a criminal.” Fourth speaker also has a red “Stand Up America” sign and identifies himself as an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who also is concerned about government oppression.
Fifth speaker – Jennifer Shaw, deputy director of the ACLU, which has already asked the city to reconsider these cameras, and makes it clear their concern is government surveillance – “government keeping track of the movements of individuals throughout our city.” She says the recent drone controversy was evidence that people in Seattle are not happy about having surveillance “thrust on them.” She refers to the fact that a city official (as noted in our early coverage) has been quoted as saying this is a potential step toward a citywide camera network, not just focused on waterways. Sixth speaker is Will Washington, who identifies himself as a Beach Drive resident. “This is a big issue for us,” he says, referring to conversations with neighbors in the Constellation Park area, where one of the cameras is installed. He says everyone is bothered by “the fact this was never brought to our attention … we never had a discussion about this.” He says the sentiment is that it’s a symptom of a growing “police state.” Seventh speaker says she is concerned about “be(ing) fearful of who I’m being watched by” as she is out walking her dog on Alki. She says she speaks for a friend who couldn’t be here but isn’t happy about being watched either. She says that if the cameras “were only meant for port security, they would only be facing the port.” She doesn’t want to feel like she’s being watched by somebody “for some reason or another … every time I walk out of my house.”
Eighth speaker is another Alki beachfront resident who says he lives just down the street from some of the cameras. He wants to talk about history. “Coming from a law enforcement family, I’m disappointed that a choice was made to purchase this technology that breeds complacency on the job.” He says this is the first time he’s spoken at a Council meeting. Ninth speaker is John Loftis, a former vice chair of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, and 20-year Alki resident. “It is not a high-crime area … One of the main reasons for this is that Alki is flanked by a high-density residential neighborhood. Most of us seldom close our blinds … and represent hundreds of sets of eyes at any one time.” He says that’s a very effective type of surveillance and “don’t need this type of camera to monitor the beach.” He thinks someone should be embarrassed that one of the cameras is across the street from a popular volleyball and sunbathing spot, and calls it Bikini Cam. “One of these women might have a bomb in her bikini top, I guess.” He says he just hopes his wife does not become “Miss Torso” to someone who can point and zoom the camera.
Tenth speaker is a woman who says she doesn’t want to be seen on camera because she doesn’t want the government “all in my business. … I’m calling you out because you’re wrong.” She says “I came down here to say you’re out of control.”
At 2:32 pm, the briefing begins as SPD and others introduce themselves. Councilmembers sit at a smaller table during committee meetings. Harrell and O’Brien still are the only members here. Councilmember Licata has not arrived (he is due at an unrelated West Seattle meeting tonight, though).
**EDITOR’S NOTE, POST MEETING – IF YOU ARE READING THIS FROM THE HOME PAGE TO GET THE REST OF OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE AT THIS LINK: Read More
The photo is from Manuela Slye of Cometa Playschool, one of the local schools that responded to the “collect 100 food items by the 100th day of school” challenge from Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Marcia Ingerslev and her students. (First report was from Holy Rosary School, whose “100th day” arrived earlier. Anyone else with results to report today? Please let us know!)
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