West Seattle, Washington
12 Tuesday
(UPDATED SATURDAY MORNING with addresses of all three new sites, and the map below)
With the deadline for vacating the “Nickelsville” encampment site in West Seattle coming up Sunday, plans to move to 3 new sites, as first announced two nights ago, are intensifying.
The two additional new sites were disclosed this afternoon, we’re told, but we have not found the addresses publicly posted. One TV report tonight says that in addition to the previously reported 20th/Jackson site in the Central District, there’s a second site in the Central District, and the third is in Skyway.
(SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: The sites, with photos, are now posted/listed on the Nickelsville Works Facebook page.
*12914 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Skyway.
*Behind Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1419 22nd Ave.
*The first site announced, 2020 South Jackson St.)
As noted here last night, there are public requests for help with the move on Sunday. The newest one involves the encampment’s pets. Teri Ensley with West Seattle-based Furry Faces Foundation is helping organize the efforts and tells WSB:
We have a solid, collective plan in place for the safekeeping of the pets during the move and transportation of them to the new sites with their people.
The Nickelsville Pet Coordinator has contacted us with the following requests for pets to help the move go more smoothly and safely for the animals:
1) Clean Cat Crates, in good working order.
2) Freshly washed used towels (for use in the crates)
3) Leashes
4) Collars – both cat and dog (especially cat collars/harnesses)Items may be dropped:
· On the front porch of my house, located at 3809 46th Ave SW
· At Pet Elements, located in Morgan Junction
· At the Nickelsville Security Desk (7116 W. Marginal Way SW)Ideally, we need items by Saturday, however, are happy to accept them any time.
This is all to facilitate keeping cats crated and dogs leashed at the soon-to-be-former site on moving day Sunday, where the pets will be watched throughout a day filled with “a lot of commotion,” as Ensley puts it. “In the evening, when the move is complete and tents/housing structures set up at the new sites, the animal companions will be transported to their new location.”
To facilitate that, each cat crate or dog leash will have a form with the owner’s name/contact info, pet’s name, and the site that pet/human will be moving to. F3 has been working on pet tagging lately and
“is also hoping to engrave new pet id tags for each of the animals which includes any new contact info,” according to Ensley.
She adds that Seattle Animal Shelter “has been very supportive with ideas and suggestions,” will accept any pets that have to be surrendered, and has spayed/neutered more than 40 Nickelsville pets.
Previous WSB coverage of Nickelsville is archived here, newest to oldest.
9:14 PM: Thanks to Andrea for the tip – she says southbound 35th SW is blocked right now at Raymond in the High Point area because of a crash. Per scanner, tow trucks are already being requested, so this might be cleared before too long, but if you’re heading that way, you might consider staying off 35th for now.
9:36 PM: 35th is reported to be reopening now.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After seven years, Skylark Café and Club in North Delridge is changing hands.
Tomorrow (Saturday, August 31st) is the final night that wife-and-husband proprietors Jessie SK and Charlie Russo (above) will be there as owners; they expected to sign the final paperwork today.
Over the course of those six years – they took over Skylark’s space at 3803 Delridge Way SW in June 2006 – they took what had been a café with some live music and transformed it into a music-and-entertainment venue that also served food.
5:54 PM: If Seattle Public Schools don’t open on time because the district and its teachers’ union haven’t reached a contract agreement, the city will offer a drop-in program at most of its community centers, for children who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. Go here to read the full text of that announcement made this afternoon; the program would start on Thursday of next week and run at least through Friday, September 13th, unless school started before that date. The announcement says all of this area’s centers would offer the program – Alki, Delridge, Hiawatha, High Point, and South Park, along with 15 others around the city. Interested families who qualify would need to register starting this weekend – the announcement explains how.
P.S. No new updates in the teacher-contract situation so far; negotiations continued again today, according to the union’s Facebook page.
10:30 PM UPDATE: The union says there’s no agreement yet and that they’ll go into mediation tomorrow.
3:46 PM: This happened just over the city/county line, so we’re reporting it here as well as on partner site White Center Now: King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West says the White Center KeyBank branch in the 9600 block of 17th SW has just been robbed. She also sent a photo – if you see him, call 911.
4 PM UPDATE: KCSO has sent more information, including this description info to add to the photo above: The robber is described as white, in his 40s, wearing a blue shirt and jeans. KCSO says bank employees reported that he came into the bank just before 3 pm, gave them a note, implied he had a weapon (though they didn’t see it), and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, last seen eastbound on 98th SW.
(WSB photo, July 25: Original house at right, under-construction house at left)
The city Department of Planning and Development has just announced that it is approving the revised boundaries for splitting what was once one home’s lot at 55th/Manning (map) into three. “Lot boundary adjustments” are not uncommon, but this one has been under a microscope since early this year, because of a challenge by residents who call their neighborhood Benchview. They appealed the city’s original approval of the lot split and went all the way to King County Superior Court, where they won a partial victory last month. They believed Judge Mariane Spearman‘s decision meant the site’s new owners could only build one new house on the lot. Shortly after the decision, the owners/developers filed documents for revised boundaries, and today, the DPD sent this letter saying those will be approved – read it here (or as a PDF here if you can’t see Scribd embeds):
Benchview residents had contended the city could choose to “protect the neighborhood” rather than consider the revised boundaries; DPD director Diane Sugimura contended, in both a letter earlier this week and the letter today, that her department was required to review them for consideration. We will be checking with the Benchview neighbors to see if they plan to challenge this new decision.
ADDED 5:17 PM: Benchview spokesperson Dave Allen cc’d us on his reply to the city – an excerpt follows:
Benefit-car-wash season is almost over – but not before at least a few more events. If you want to get your vehicle washed while helping out local youth, you can do it tomorrow at West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor), where the West Seattle High School girls’ soccer team will be washing cars. 10 am-3 pm Saturday (August 31st), 7501 35th SW, according to Karin Beck, who shared the photo and announcement, with this invitation: “Please come by and show the girls your support! Special thanks to West Seattle Autoworks and West Seattle Booster Club!”
(Tango Card CEO Dave Leeds; WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
More jobs created in West Seattle = less traffic outbound in the mornings. And one growing company has done its part: Tango Card has created 27 jobs in the past three years, points out its founder and CEO, Dave Leeds, who’s lived in West Seattle almost a decade and chose to locate his business here.
It’s not your average small business – it helps companies around the globe integrate gift cards into their rewards for customers and employees, and investors have shown strong support, as noted in this GeekWire story from last spring, when Tango Card closed another funding round.
Leeds says he loves the building in which Tango Card is currently based, on the east edge of The Junction along 40th SW north of SW Edmunds. But he has to find someplace new, since the building will come down when the 4745 40th SW development goes up.
Leeds is of course watching the listings and talking to brokers. But he asked us if we could help get the word out about his search, in case the perfect spot is out there and not officially on the market.
What’s he looking for?
He wants to keep Tango Card HQ close to The Junction – within a few blocks of its business district. He and his two dozen employees love being close to great places for lunch, he says, and it’s a convenient location for many other reasons.
If you have a suggestion of someplace that’s available now or soon – they don’t have a deadline, but he expects that at the latest, they’ll need to be out early next year, so Tango Card could move this fall. They need about 3,000 square feet, according to Leeds, who says he wishes they could stay in their current digs, where they moved about a year ago. Got someplace to suggest or offer? He’s at david@tangocard.com.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
10:33 AM: Firefighters are reporting flames as they arrive at the scene of a house fire in the 3400 block of 44th SW (map). We’ll be there shortly.
10:44 AM UPDATE: No word of injuries so far. Firefighters have put out the call for investigative unit Marshal 5, which is standard operating procedure.
10:51 AM UPDATE: Firefighters tell our crew at the scene that this was a “small kitchen fire” and it’s now out. Nobody was home when it started. A neighbor saw the smoke and called 911.
12:48 PM UPDATE: One of the neighbors shares more in the comment section. Another one sent this photo of a dog that got out safely:
We’ll update here when there’s official information on the fire’s cause.
1:25 PM UPDATE: SFD says “overheated electrical wiring” caused the fire, and they’re “classifying (it) as an accidental fire.” Damage is estimated at $20,000; along with the dog shown above, another dog and a cat were rescued by firefighters, according to the SFD update on Fire Line.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of the WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled in the past several weeks by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”
*Apparently unhappy at seeing a flatbed repo truck pull up in front of her house in the 3500 block of SW 98th, a woman ran outside, jumped into the car, started it up, gunned it, and drove straight into the repo-company employee. The victim landed on the hood of the car, which went another twenty feet before the driver braked abruptly, dumped the “passenger” to the cement, and drove off. Although she suffered abrasions, the victim declined medical attention.
*An alert officer at Westwood Village recognized a woman who matched someone wanted on a $100,000 felony hit and run warrant. He called for backup and monitored her activities (which included trying to claim freshly stolen items as “returns without receipts” at one store). A records check showed that the woman (under an alias) also had more than $3,000 in theft warrants and a $20,000 warrant (under a second alias) for trespassing. While police were processing her at the scene, another store reported a woman of her description had stolen items that afternoon. The 34-year-old suspect was booked into King County Jail on the warrants and for investigation of the other incidents.
Five other summaries ahead – including a call that came down to a single word:
(Woodpecker photographed at Lincoln Park last week by John Kamin – thanks for sharing!)
A quieter Friday as we head into Labor Day weekend – but you still have options for today/tonight (and we have a few reminders, too):
TENNIS-COURT CLOSURE: As the Solstice Park tennis courts’ renovation closure wraps up, the Hiawatha Community Center/Park courts’ renovation closure is scheduled to start today, as noted on the city’s Parkways site. (Fauntleroy/Lincoln Park Way SW)
DUWAMISH LONGHOUSE NATIVE MARKET/JUMBLE DAYS: Go shop at the Duwamish Tribe‘s longhouse, during the first of two days for this arts/crafts/rummage (and more) sale. 10 am-4 pm today and again on Saturday. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
SIGNAL-BOX MURAL CELEBRATION: As previewed here last night, you’re invited to Youngstown Cultural Arts Center at 2 this afternoon to help the artists celebrate the project that has painted sea-life-themed mini-murals on 12 traffic-signal boxes along Delridge between Andover and Henderson. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
‘FOOD FOR ART’ PARTY: A month-long benefit at The Bridge, on behalf of nearby Transitional Resources, culminates with a party starting at 3:30 pm today, and raffle tickets on sale until the drawing at 8 tonight. Details in this earlier story. (4439 35th SW)
‘BOBCAT BOB’: Ever-popular “Bobcat Bob” Rice performs tonight at C & P Coffee Company, 6-8 pm. (5612 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT MIND UNWIND: The Portrait Project plays live jazz music at Mind Unwind in The Admiral District, 8-10 pm tonight, no cover. (2206 California SW)
And a business note …
THE WASH DOG: Out of the WSB inbox this morning: “The Wash Dog [WSB sponsor] will be closed today (Friday, 8/30) for Employee Enrichment Day, to celebrate our outstanding, hard-working employees. We will re-open at 9 am tomorrow – Saturday, 8/31.” (6400 California SW)
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
The long holiday weekend is almost here – but first, one more workday of traffic to track. Looks like the rain has ended for now, so that won’t be a factor.
Another reminder of this weekend’s road work: The ramp from northbound I-5 to the WS Bridge and to lower Spokane St./6th will close 7 pm tonight-3 pm Monday for expansion-joint work. Get project details, detour info, future closures, and more by going here.
P.S. For the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Metro Transit and the West Seattle Water Taxi will be on Sunday schedules.
Jenn says she and her dog were out before 5 am today when this happened:
I just got back from walking my dog, and coming across a coyote standing at Alaska and 46th SW, 2 blocks from the Junction. It was in the yard of the home on the SW corner of the intersection.
It crossed Alaska as we approached, and as I realized what it was, we turned around immediately and went back the way we had come. The coyote then reappeared and began following us right back down 46th. It was very brave. My dog, of course, then stops to poop….and the coyote is still coming. It was getting WAY too close for comfort. We crossed to the other side of 46th, and it didn’t follow us, but continued walking our direction. We scurried into our house quickly!
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