West Seattle scenes: Sneak preview of spring
(Photo courtesy Jaydee)
Though some clouds were around at sunset, as our Skies Over West Seattle correspondent Alice Enevoldsen tweeted a little while ago, it’s a great night for stargazing. And for walking, which Laddie and Polly did, from Alki to Anchor Park:
(Photo courtesy Christine)
Earlier – even for wading:
(Photo by John Hinkey)
Thanks to everyone who shared photos! P.S. Remember Daylight Saving Time arrives tomorrow night – 2 am Sunday; spring is less than two weeks away – March 20th.
Chief Sealth students win President’s Volunteer Service Award
Congratulations to the two Chief Sealth International High School students whose achievements we heard about from assistant principal Cheryl Sullivan:
Chief Sealth International High School seniors Tasha Addington-Ferris [right] and Teianna Chenkovich [left] have been awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award! They were honored at our Student of the Month luncheon today and received a certificate and a letter from President Barack Obama. We hope that future Chief Sealth students and other youth in the community look up to these two young women as role models and examples of what youth can do to improve their communities!
Followup: Port still plans to give Duwamish artifacts to another tribe
The Duwamish Tribe has just heard back from the Port of Seattle, one week after telling the port it “would like its artifacts back,” the latest in a long-running dispute over items found on historic Duwamish land across the street from its West Seattle longhouse. Last summer, personnel from the Burke Museum removed the artifacts from their display cases at the Duwamish Cultural Center in the longhouse. Last week, after getting word that the Port would give the artifacts to the South King County-based Muckleshoot Tribe, Duwamish chair Cecile Hansen sent the Port a letter offering to buy them back; we published that letter last week. Today, the tribe has just sent the reply it received from Port CEO Tay Yoshitani:
(If you can’t see the letter in the Scribd window above, here it is as a PDF.) The tribe says chair Hansen is “not commenting on (the Port’s letter) at this time” but adds that the port signed an agreement with the Muckleshoot two weeks ago.
Michael Stanley leaving jail Monday, no charges in assault allegations
Remember Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist arrested in an Admiral alley in October after leaving Canada, where he’d been sought for cutting off a monitoring device? He has been in the King County Jail, serving time for harassment since pleading guilty in January, and it looks like he’s getting out this Monday as previously announced – the County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says he won’t be charged with allegedly sexual assaulting a teenager before his arrest. The statement we received:
The King County Prosecutor’s Office has completed its review of a case involving Michael Stanley. The case is being declined for criminal prosecution because there is insufficient evidence to prove that a forcible sexual assault had occurred.
Canada does not want him extradited; he is an American citizen. At the time of his sentencing in January, the City Attorney’s Office noted that his history in our state includes burglary and DUI. Conditions with which he must comply in this case require him to “provide a DNA sample; obey written anti-harassment orders protecting the three victims; not violate criminal law; have no alcohol or drug offenses; abstain from marijuana; undergo chemical dependency treatment; possess no weapons, and update the court on his current address.” He will be under Municipal Court jurisdiction for two years.
5 reasons not to stay home on your West Seattle Friday night
(New state ferry Tokitae under construction at Vigor Shipyard; photo by Carolyn Newman)
Fun stuff from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, for the hours ahead, starting now!
SHARON BEST’S RETIREMENT PARTY: Now until 7 pm, at The White House, lawyer Sharon Best‘s retirement party, combined with an open house for Best Escrow LLC, as previewed here. (3909 California SW)
CONRAD WESSELHOEFT AT ‘WORDS, WRITERS, WEST SEATTLE’: 4-6 pm, the West Seattle author is the next to read/sign in this series celebrating local writers. Meet him at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village. (2800 SW Barton)
PACO DIEZ AT NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Tapas, wine, and music with Paco Diez tonight at Northwest Wine Academy on the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) campus, 5-9 pm, with Diez performing 5:30-7. (6000 16th SW)
GET THE BLUES AT THE CORNER BAR: Highland Park Improvement Club‘s pop-up Corner Bar features DJ Rich 6-8 pm and then the Yada Yada Blues Band 8-10 pm; details in our calendar listing. (12th/Holden)
‘SWEET, SWEET MUSIC’: 7:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church, music and dessert! Details here. (9140 California SW)
Global Reading Challenge update: 4 more WS teams compete
Thanks to Kelly for the photo – the last semifinal round of Global Reading Challenge competition at the Seattle Public Library downtown is over, and this one turned out to have FOUR West Seattle elementary schools competing – Gatewood, Highland Park, Roxhill, and West Seattle. Kelly reports that all four tied for 3rd place (along with 2 other schools) but that’s not high enough to advance to the finals. So as far as we’ve heard, Arbor Heights Elementary‘s Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas are the only West Seattle team headed to final competition on March 18th (also at the Central Library).
2:08 PM UPDATE: Confirmed with Mary Palmer from SPL, the lineup for the citywide final (just in case you’re wondering about the non-WS teams against whom AH will be competing) – their schools & team name (each school had multiple teams in the early round, with intraschool competition):
View Ridge
Marvelous Mind Masters
Whittier
Word Warriors
Adams
The Little Team That Could
Orca
Radiant Readers
Northgate
Seahawk Readers
Van Asselt
Book Thieves
Arbor Heights
Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas
Greenwood
Chickadees
Graham Hill
Olympic Readers
Leschi
Golden Seven
Southwest Design Review Board doubleheader, report #2: 3257/3303 Harbor SW gets through 1st round on 1st try
(Harbor Ave-facing view of project team’s preferred ‘massing’)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Rare words of praise from the Southwest Design Review Board for the second project given its first review last night, 3257/3303 Harbor SW (map).
Both board members and two regular citizen commenters lauded Public47 Architects for an Early Design Guidance presentation that actually included divergent options for the project’s potential “massing” (size/shape), instead of paying little more than visual lip service to the requirement of offering options.
The project involves what are technically two adjacent sites separated by a 23-foot-wide “unimproved right of way” on which they mention an opportunity for public stairs. (There’s another unimproved right of way just north of the site, too.) We had made note of this site a few years back because it was previously owned by fugitive real-estate investor Michael Mastro (who also had owned what are now The Residences at 3295, a mile up the hill at 35th/Avalon). It then went into foreclosure, and was bought by new, unrelated owners who are behind this plan.
The proposal comes amid a mini-boom of projects along West Seattle’s northern waterfront, along Harbor and Alki Avenues; we reported earlier this week on new details of what’s in the works for the ex-Alki Tavern site, and one of last month’s Design Review meetings focused on the Alki Landing project at 59th/Alki.
Now, on to the details of last night’s presentation and decisionmaking:
Read More
Crime Watch: Woman assaulted; helicopter, K-9 search for suspect
After questions about a helicopter search in the Westwood/Roxhill area early today, here’s what we have found out: King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West says a 58-year-old woman reported being attacked near 26th/Roxbury (map) just after midnight:
A man called and said a woman asked him to call the police because she had been assaulted by an unknown male.
When we arrived, we contacted a 58-year-old woman who said she had been walking eastbound on Roxbury on the south side of the street. She said as she was walking, a man approached her and asked for a cigarette. She gave him a cigarette and then the man grabbed her and pulled her to a nearby lot. The suspect then physically and sexually assaulted her.
The woman was taken to Harborview for treatment. We attempted a K-9 track but did not locate the suspect. At this time the only description we have is a black man, approximately 25 years old, last seen wearing a dark hoodie.
Seattle Fire and Police responded too; SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl says the victim “was transported (by) medics in serious condition with face and head trauma.”
Admiral Neighborhood Association: Adopt-A-Street tomorrow; new meeting location
News from the Admiral Neighborhood Association:
ADOPT-A-STREET CLEANUP TOMORROW: Join ANA on Saturday morning by the main entrance of Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor), 9 am, to help clean up nearby streets. As noted by ANA president David Whiting in the announcement, “As always beverages, refreshments and sack lunches are provided, as well as gloves and tools.” So all you have to bring is yourself! (Youth helpers welcome, too.)
MEETINGS MOVE TO THE SANCTUARY: After years of meeting in the basement at Admiral Congregational Church, ANA is moving its regular meeting site starting this month. Meetings will now be at The Sanctuary at Admiral (northeast corner of 42nd/Lander), starting next Tuesday (March 11th), 7 pm. Speaking of which:
TUESDAY’S AGENDA: Pedestrian retail zoning – a topic at several other local community-group meetings this winter – will be discussed, along with the WSHS “Steps at Stevens” pedestrian-connection project.
Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council looks back at Year 1, ahead at what’s in the works
One year into its existence, West Seattle’s newest community council – Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights, aka WWRHAH – has taken a look back at that momentous first year (here’s our report on their 2013 launch meeting). Chair Amanda Kay Helmick delivered a “state of the council” report at the monthly meeting earlier this week. It’s part of the meeting report that secretary Joe Szilagyi published to the WWRHAH website. He also noted toward the start of the report that the meeting (and therefore the wrapup) also touched on these questions:
How is the public feedback on the Roxbury safety study?
Are we going to re-channelize (road diet) Roxbury?
Should we have bike lanes on Roxbury?
Should we move some bus layovers to Roxbury from Westwood?
How are the safety changes going for the Westwood Rapid Ride stop?
Are buses causing shaking detectable as earthquakes on Barton, 26th, and Roxbury?
When will SDOT start working on 35th Ave SW safety?
Will re-hydrating the bog in Roxhill Park help reduce flooding across West Seattle?
Interested in any of the above? See the report here – and note that WWRHAH (all volunteers, like all local community councils) could use your help as its advocacy and other community work continues.
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