West Seattle, Washington
15 Sunday
The family of Alki resident Barbara Parker, 60, shares this remembrance:
Barbara “Barb” Jean (Killian) Parker found peace on her way to heaven on March 29, 2014 to be with her sister Christine, her sister Darlene, her father Benny, mother Emily, her mother-in-law Jean, and her father-in-law Allan.
Born March 4, 1954, in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest sister to Chris, Debbie, and Cindy, Barb’s reputation as a fighter began with her premature birth. She grew up in Cleveland and graduated from James Ford Rhodes High School. She attended Renton Technical College and received CAD/CAM certification as well as the University of Washington Project Management certification.
She met Michael Allan Parker in the fall of 1972 in the Sohio computer center where they both worked. They were married on March 3, 1973, by his father, Father Allan Parker, at St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Their son Michael was born in Cleveland and then they moved to Seattle, where their son Matthew was born. After living in Dallas and Mission Beach, they returned to West Seattle to live in Alki.
Barbara was involved in the West Seattle community, and served as the Northwest Cavalier Rescue coordinator, adopting out 21 dogs. Barbara most recently worked for the Seattle Lighthouse of the Blind as a Technical Writer and Documentation Control. Previously she was an IT and ISO Internal Auditor. Barbara organized whomever she worked for, with a contagious humor.
Barbara will be missed by her husband Michael, sons Michael and Matthew, daughters-in-law Angie and Jessica, granddaughters Trinity, Emily, and Tess, sisters Deborah and Cynthia, the in-laws Edith and John, David, Janet, Ann and Dan, and Amy and Ken, plus countless nieces and nephews and cousins. Barbara was surrounded by family in her final days. To honor Barb’s wishes, there will be a private roast to celebrate her life on May 3rd in Alki Beach.
Donations would be made in the memory of Barbara Parker to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, PO Box 19023, Seattle, WA 98109 and be directed toward breast-cancer research. Online donations for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance can be made here.
Alternatively, donations can be made in Barbara Parker’s memory to the King Charles Cavalier Rescue. The information can be found here.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home of West Seattle.
(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
Another awesome day of shopping, selling, and meeting your neighbors is in the works for the 10th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 10th, sales of all sizes, all around West Seattle. The lineup is now up to 150 sales, and as your friendly neighborhood WSCGSD coordinators again this year, we’re keeping registration open until Wednesday night, April 23rd, before it’s time to get busy making the guide.
Again this year, if you want to have a sale but don’t have much room and/or merchandise, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company (both WSB sponsors) are opening their courtyards/yards as group sites – please inquire directly with either one about space. And NEW THIS YEAR – if you love shopping but don’t really need anything, watch for a special shopping list from WestSide Baby, inviting you to shop for items the nonprofit needs, which you can deliver to their dropoff spot on sale day.
If you’re having a sale, but haven’t signed up yet, here’s where to do it (mobile version here) – thank you!
Brand-new fun(draiser), ready to launch – Karaoke Night to benefit the multi-age, multi-skill-level West Seattle Community Orchestras, 7 pm Friday, May 2nd, at historic Kenyon Hall. WSCO says they’re fundraising for a very specific purpose:
As the demand for music programs increases, WSCO continues to provide musicians in the community an artistic outlet. In recent years, their three orchestra groups have almost reached room capacity and many incoming musicians are placed on a waiting list.
Now in WSCO’s 12th season, the Board of Directors have proposed to launch two new music programs that will enable them to accommodate the increasing growth and continue to provide community musicians opportunities for mentorship, performance, and growth. The proposed new groups include a Wind Symphony and an Introduction to Music Class. This fund-raising event will help with startup costs for these new groups.
Join WSCO and DJ “J” for a fun and casual party time! Sing along with the karaoke machine, bring your instrument and music for our on-site piano accompanist, or sing with the piano accompanist.
Tickets at the door: Adults $20, Students (K-12th Grade) $10
Evening will include 50/50 Raffle, Appetizers, Beverages, Cash Bar, and “Cello Shots.” Awards for the Top 5 Performances of the evening.
For event information, please contact Maria Fisher, maria@WSCOrchestras.org
A member of the group 15 Now, supporters of a higher minimum wage, filed a proposed city-charter amendment today. It would go to voters if they gather at least 30,000 valid signatures. Here’s how they summarize the proposal:
On Jan 1, 2015, the minimum wage for workers at big businesses will be raised to $15/hour and raised each year to adjust for inflation.
For small- and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organizations, the minimum wage will be phased in over three years starting with $11/hour on Jan 1, 2015.
Small- and medium-sized businesses are defined as having fewer than 250 Full Time Equivalents, the standard set by Seattle’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.
No training wages, no lower wages for tipped workers, and no “total compensation.”
Increased worker protections against wage and tip theft.
The Seattle Times (WSB partner) reports that supporters aren’t planning to start gathering signatures until they see what the mayor’s income-inequality committee comes up with.
(Stephen Jeffries, Jr. and children)
A new effort is under way to try to solve one of West Seattle’s unsolved murders. 40-year-old Stephen Jeffries, Jr., a father of four and 20-year Seattle Public Utilities employee, died after someone shot him at a New Year’s Eve party in South Delridge. We just received this announcement of two events ahead:
The family will be holding a fundraiser to raise money for a reward toward finding his killer. This will take place April 26th, 10 am – 1 pm at the Puerto Vallarta in West Seattle Junction on California Avenue. The family will also have a candlelight vigil May 1st, which will be four months to the date of Stephen Jeffries, Jr.’s murder with no arrest. It will be held directly across the street from 9215 16th Ave SW, at 7:30 pm- 8:30 pm.
If you have any information, the Seattle Police Homicide Tipline is the number to call – even if anonymously – 206-233-5000.
(Mr. Jeffries was one of two West Seattle murder victims last year, both killed in December; a suspect was arrested and charged last month in the other case, that of 46-year-old Nga Nguyen.)
(Potential concept for the parklet – not an exact overlay – just a lengthwise comparison)
Until now, West Seattle wasn’t represented in the city’s pilot program turning a few street-parking spaces around the city into “parklets” – a program inspired by other cities including Vancouver (BC), San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
But today, SDOT confirms West Seattle’s first parklet is one of a dozen-plus in the works around the city (map added).
It will be at 3270 California SW, in front of Equilibrium Fitness (WSB sponsor) in the south Admiral area. Lora Swift of Swift Media Solutions is working with EQ Fitness on the plan, which is still taking shape, and, she says, will next go through “a couple of rounds of public comment,” as well as searching for a designer, and funding. With all that ahead for parklet plans, the approval is just the start – all the hosts around the city “will work with SDOT over the next several months to design, permit, and construct their parklets, with the goal of opening this summer,” according to today’s announcement.
The pilot program started with three test parklets, including a Capitol Hill bar whose parklet – open since last September – you can see here. If you’re curious about the rules and requirements, from size to mandatory insurance, you can read about that here.
Stand by for updates on how to have a say as the parklet plan takes shape.
(Thanks to the person who texted us this photo from the Bainbridge ferry this morning!)
Multiple reports this morning of orcas back in the area (thanks to Barb for the first report) – we’ve heard of southbound whales sighted near Bainbridge and Blake Islands. They’re reported to be closer to the west side of Puget Sound, so you’ll need binoculars. Please let us know if you spot them!
Another beautiful West Seattle bird – this time, a horned grebe in all his looking-for-love splendor, photographed by Mark Wangerin. On shore – and in the sky – highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
PROPOSITION 1 CAMPUS RALLY: As previewed on Friday night, South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) students are rallying in support of the Metro/roads proposal for which ballots are due a week from tomorrow. Clock Tower plaza on campus at noon. (6000 16th SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL SPORTS: Though it’s spring break for Seattle Public Schools, three local teams have home games today – West Seattle High School baseball is coming off a 5-0 win over Nathan Hale last Friday:
(Photo by Greg Slader: Pitcher Jake Magera, who threw six shutout innings Friday)
The Wildcats play Seattle Prep at Hiawatha this afternoon at 3:30 pm. Meantime, Chief Sealth International High School has two teams playing at Southwest Athletic Complex this afternoon at 4 – softball vs. Holy Names, baseball vs. O’Dea. (Schedule is per Metro League’s website.)
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Tonight’s monthly meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (Room 103) is at 6:30 pm, with agenda items including a letter of support for the Pathfinder K-8 playground project and a conversation with Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council chair Amanda Kay Helmick. All welcome. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
FOOD BANK WORK PARTY: Part of the PCC Natural Markets (WSB sponsor) Food Bank program, 7 pm at West Seattle Food Bank, volunteers welcome; details here. (35th/Morgan)
PASSOVER … The Jewish festival of freedom begins at sundown tonight and continues for eight days. (Seders are on the schedule later this week at West Seattle’s Kol HaNeshamah synagogue.)
LUNAR ECLIPSE: As detailed in our most recent edition of “Skies Over West Seattle“ by Alice Enevoldsen, a total eclipse of the moon starts just before 11 pm tonight and continues for more than three hours. The big question is whether the weather will cooperate; the forecast foresees clouds tonight.
(WSB photo from the aftermath of the incident in November 2012)
Another West Seattle criminal case of note has ended in a plea bargain. Checking the cases on our watch list, we just discovered that 38-year-old Amy Lynn O’Brien has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and hit-and-run. She’s the woman arrested in November 2012 for deliberately driving her car into two Chief Sealth International High School students across the street from the school. According to charging documents, O’Brien was upset about the 17- and 18-year-old girls’ interaction with her unleashed dog, and came after them with a taser and then her car, hitting them while driving at an estimated 40 mph. Both were badly hurt; one girl’s ear was nearly severed. O’Brien turned herself in the next day and spent about a week in jail before being released on personal recognizance. Court documents related to the plea bargain say a six-month sentence will be recommended when she is sentenced May 30th.
9:18 AM: Seattle City Light estimates the power outage affecting a section of southwestern West Seattle might not be fixed until after 1 pm. SCL says “equipment failure” is to blame for the outage at 77 homes in The Arroyos. (Thanks to Susan for the tip.)
3:55 PM UPDATE: The estimates of power-restoration time have moved back, and we checked with Scott Thomsen of SCL about the status:
There is a crew working on this outage. We know that it involves underground equipment. We do not yet know what piece of equipment failed or where that failure took place. The crew is troubleshooting the system to locate the problem and identify it so they can make repairs. The … estimate for restoration of service is only an estimate and could change once the crew finds the damage and determines what is needed to fix it.
11:50 PM UPDATE: Looks like it’s finally over as of late tonight, after, as is pointed out in a comment, growing at one point to almost 200 homes. We’ll ask SCL again tomorrow what the cause turned out to be.
TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Turns out it was not entirely resolved – see comment below – so we checked with SCL’s Thomsen again this morning:
Yesterday crews found that an underground cable failed, which caused the outage. They switched around the damage to restore power. A permanent repair involving the replacement of the cable is being scheduled.
Today, crews are investigating an outage on that same circuit. This is limited to equipment in a single underground vault. They are working to determine what piece of equipment failed. It is possible that the two events are connected. If the vault equipment failed first, it could have caused a surge that the cable could not withstand.
When the crew identified the failed cable, they believed they had discovered the problem and restored service to all customers. In some cases like this, a customer’s call to tell us they are still out is how we learn that there is other damage that needs to be fixed.
Back on Friday, we reported on the official debut of the city’s proposed rules for (including a definition of) microhousing, when the legislation showed up on the City Council’s Introduction and Referral Calendar. Today, another online city publication, the Land Use Information Bulletin, brings news of the public hearing required before a vote can be held: 5:30 pm Monday, May 19th, in the City Council chambers at City Hall downtown. Here’s the hearing notice, including a summary of the proposed rules (which you can read in full here) and details on how to comment if you can’t make it to the hearing. The rules would not affect any of the projects already making their way through the city system. (WSB photo: First West Seattle microhousing project to open, Footprint Delridge)
(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Monday! It’s the first day of spring-break week for many if not most local schools (including all Seattle Public Schools), so traffic might be lighter. This week’s road-work alerts:
SW GENESEE: Its hill just east of Avalon Way is scheduled to close at 9 am today and remain closed for the next five days for concrete-panel work, as announced last week.
SW CHARLESTOWN: The project on the steep section a few blocks west of California SW is scheduled to continue through tomorrow. (10:21 am – Paula says in comments that it’s done)
I-5 LANE CLOSURES NEXT WEEKEND: Another weekend of lane closures on northbound I-5, just north of the West Seattle Bridge, is ahead – late next Friday (April 18th) through early next Monday (April 21st). Details here.
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