West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photo: Sealth sophomore David Johnson)
Tough loss tonight for Chief Sealth International High School, playing Bainbridge in the Metro League playoffs at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. The Seahawks played hard, holding the lead at times, but fell short, losing 10-7.
Quick break for a fun clip – Kaycie shared it, explaining:
Our son, Henry, who plays T-Ball for the West Seattle Little League “Wild Things,” was the Steal-A-Base Kid at the Mariners game Sunday (Mother’s Day), which also happened to be Little League Day at the Stadium. He got some help from Mariners player James Jones! Thought I’d send along the video that was posted on Mariners.com and MLB.com. WSLL was well represented! Lots of cheering and fun all around!
Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda will be back in West Seattle tomorrow morning for a big announcement – what’s expected to be a tax levy to raise money for universal pre-kindergarten in Seattle. They will announce what’s described in a media advisory as the “Seattle Preschool Program proposal” during an 11:30 am event at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, joined by City Council President Tim Burgess (who has been a leading advocate of the proposal), State Rep. Ruth Kagi, and State Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde.
6:09 PM: Want to talk with a city councilmember about how your money is spent – and will be spent? Now until 8 pm, you have a prime chance at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge. Three councilmembers are here so far for the Public Safety/Civil Rights-focused workshop looking ahead to the 2015-2016 budget cycle – Nick Licata, who chairs the budget committee; Tim Burgess, who’s the president of the council; and Bruce Harrell, who chairs the public safety/civil rights/technology committee. Tom Rasmussen, the lone West Seattle-residing councilmember, is said to be en route. (Added: He arrived around 6:30.) The presentation hasn’t started yet, but we’re told it’s fairly short, and then it’s your turn to talk. More to come.
6:19 PM: City budget director Ben Noble is leading the presentation. He explains that right now the process of making the next budget plan is “in the executive phase” – departments send in their proposals this month and next, then the mayor reviews them over the summer, and a proposed budget goes to the council this fall. The current city budget is $4.4 billion; utilities and transportation spending comprise more than half that. But, Noble explains, most of the decisionmaking focuses on just $1 billion of that $4.4 billion – the “general fund.” More than half of that, in turn, goes to public safety – $576 million in the current cycle, says Noble. (Some of the information he’s presenting is on this two-page doc from the city website; we’re promised a copy of the slide deck, to come; ADDED – here it is.) Of that, a bit more than half – $289 million – goes to SPD. $175 million goes to SFD.
How much in the SPD budget goes to items related to the Department of Justice settlement? asked local community activist Pete Spalding. Hard to break that out, city staff said; Councilmember Harrell picked it up by saying, “You’ll hear different numbers,” noting that it’s led to the creation of new units, for example, such as Force Investigation (which was launched by now-Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske before his assignment to the local precinct, by the way).
6:43 PM: Questions so far include how budget items relate to, for example, SPD officers’ union and contract. Councilmember Harrell offered the example that the council might budget money for, say, body cameras, but if they weren’t written into the contract as a change of terms of employment, the money might sit there unspent, though “we’d find a way to use it,” Harrell added. West Seattle Be Prepared‘s Cindi Barker asked how much of the city budget goes toward preparedness; city staffers said they’d look it up. We have to move on to another meeting – but again, if you have questions/ideas, drop in at Youngstown, 4408 Delridge Way SW, until 8, and tell city reps about your public-safety-budget priorities (or send them via e-mail – lots of contact info on the right side of this page).
(First 56 minutes of WSTC Q/A with Andrew Glass Hastings)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just 12 hours before the non-major crash that led to two hours of major backups on the West Seattle Bridge, the West Seattle Transportation Coalition had asked Mayor Ed Murray‘s transportation adviser about how to deal with that kind of recurring problem.
As you can see 19 minutes into our video clip (which has the first 56 minutes of his Q/A with the WSTC, before camera trouble ended the clip), he talked about information access as part of the solution – finding more ways for more people to know about the problem before they find themselves stuck because of it.
But he made it crystal clear that he wasn’t at the WSTC meeting to defend the city or answer for problems, saying he was there in hopes of a “dialogue.”
The meeting also included confirmation of the WSTC’s permanent board and a few other updates – read on:
(King County Assessor’s Office photo of Swedish clinic building at 3400 California SW)
More big moves in local health care: If you are a patient at Swedish‘s pediatric clinic in South Admiral, you might already know it’s moving to The Junction (thanks to all the recent tipsters!). Following up with Swedish, we asked what it plans to do with the space the Children’s Clinic is leaving behind, and found out they’ll be opening an urgent-care clinic there later this year.
As noted online, the pediatric clinic will make the move to 4744 41st SW, east of Jefferson Square (a space vacated by the former Highline clinic that moved into The Triangle) over a weekend in mid-June, opening in the new location on June 16th. Swedish spokesperson Clay Holtzman tells WSB, “The move is being made to create additional space for the clinic. The new children’s clinic is adding one pediatrician. There are seven physicians associated with the children’s clinic, including the newest doctor. The new space will have parking out front and will be decorated with a West Seattle theme. Most importantly, the new clinic will be reconfigured for a ‘care team’ approach – a concept in patient care that has a team of people (not just the physician) who are responsible for the wellness of the patient. This reflects the more efficient, proactive, and engaged approach that health care overall is shifting toward.”
After that, Holtzman continues, “The old location at California SW will expand its third-floor primary care clinic into the second floor (where the children’s clinic was). Swedish will be adding an Urgent Care clinic in that second floor.” Urgent Care, he says, will open there in the late summer or early fall.
The Taste of West Seattle, benefiting WS Helpline, is usually a sellout by the time the doors open and the tasting begins … so if you are thinking about going, but haven’t purchased tickets, don’t wait – a few dozen remain, we just found out.
What? Haven’t heard about it? More than 40 restaurants and beverage establishments are participating, and once you’re in, you can try them all, if you have time and room. It’s tomorrow night (Thursday, May 15th), at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW, south side of the historic schoolhouse), 6 pm if you get the VIP ticket ($95), 6:30 pm otherwise ($50), must be at least 21 (bring ID!). The participating/hosting venues donate the food, beverages, and people, and the proceeds go to make sure the Helpline can continue providing assistance to people in emergency circumstances. Tickets await you online, here.
P.S. Click ahead for a list of participants:
(April 8th photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand – Lovett Chambers, foreground, with lawyer Ben Goldsmith)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Five weeks after a King County Superior Court jury found Lovett Chambers guilty of manslaughter in the deadly shooting of Travis Hood in Morgan Junction in January 2012, his sentencing date is set: June 13th.
The judge who presided over his trial, Theresa B. Doyle, will oversee the sentencing as well. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has not yet finalized a sentencing recommendation; the standard range for manslaughter is 78 to 102 months, and five years would be added to that because Chambers used a gun, but the baseline range would be higher if any of the crimes on Chambers’ record from decades ago count in his “offender score.” He was originally charged with first-degree murder, reduced last August to second-degree murder; jurors found him not guilty of that charge, but guilty of first-degree manslaughter.
Meantime, Chambers’ legal team has filed a motion for a new trial based on the racial makeup of the jury pool and jury.
(Barred owls ‘kissing’ at Lincoln Park; photo by Trileigh Tucker)
Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (and story archives):
GARDEN STORY TIME: Take the little one(s) to “How My Garden Grows” story time at 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library. (2306 42nd SW)
LOW-ISH TIDE: With the full moon comes low tides – get out on the beach if you can! -1.6 at 11:22 am today, -2.3 at noon tomorrow, -2.6 at 12:44 pm Friday and the same at 1:29 pm Saturday. (Chart on the WSB West Seattle Weather page)
BEER WEEK AT ELLIOTT BAY: You might be well and sudsily aware that this is Seattle Beer Week. Elliott Bay Brewery Pub‘s big event in The Junction is at 4 pm today. (4720 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT SALTY’S: Looks like another gorgeous evening to be out on a deck by the water, and Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) has exactly that – plus, 5:30-8:30 pm, live Latin-jazz music with Alma y Azucar. (1936 Harbor Avenue SW)
HOW SHOULD THE CITY SPEND YOUR MONEY? As previewed here last night, the city’s next budget workshop, seeking your ideas on how the city should spend your money in the next budget cycle, is 6-8 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Special focus: Public safety and civil rights, though you can bring up other aspects too. (We mentioned in our preview that the Seattle Privacy Coalition plans to call for a city privacy review; here’s the letter they’ll be presenting and circulating.) Even if you can’t stay for the whole meeting, the city invites you to stop by and have a say. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
CONGRESSMEMBER, SOAPBOX @ 34TH DDs: 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, it’s the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, with three major items on the agenda. First, an update from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott; second, endorsements including judges and the Park District issue; third, a new “soapbox” opportunity, for members only – rules here. (9131 California SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: Chief Sealth International High School vs. Bainbridge, 7 pm tonight at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. (1321 SW 102nd)
OPEN-MICROPHONE COMEDY SLAM: 8-10 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), come show off your funniness. (6451 California SW)
MORE! MORE! MORE! … on the calendar page.
9 AM: For all the talk about the stuck Highway 99 tunnel machine, we’ve had a tough time visualizing exactly where it is. A new set of a dozen renderings made public by the state has fixed that. It’s part of a new online update from WSDOT; at the lower right of the rendering shown above, that’s Pier 50, where the West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxis dock downtown. Work has begun underground on the 120-foot-deep “access pit,” according to the WSDOT update – scroll through the renderings to see how that is supposed to unfold. The WSDOT update also points to an added webcam showing the work zone on the surface (top right of this page). Bottom line, though, no change in the timeline, which still projects that tunneling will resume in/by “late March 2015.”
12:23 PM: We followed up with WSDOT regarding some questions that came up in comments. Spokesperson Laura Newborn says the utility-relocation cost is part of the repair work and: “The cost associated with the entire fix, is, in WSDOT’s opinion, STP’s responsibility. Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities have done a remarkable job in helping us relocate these utilities, which should be wrapped up by next week.”
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:48 AM: Trouble on the bridge – thanks to everyone who’s reporting a crash at/near the top, described as blocking the bus lane and part of the lane to the left of it. No injuries.
7:20 AM: Still causing a backup. (Added – screengrab we snagged at the time, for posterity:)
Meanwhile, if you’re going to be on the road in SODO at midday today, remember that the Mariners have a day game.
7:29 AM: Thanks for comment updates, including bus rider reporting tow truck at crash scene. (Added – another screengrab for posterity:)
7:59 AM: After almost an hour and a half, the bridge crash has JUST cleared. Just last night, the “one stalled car/crash blocking thousands of commuters” problem was among the questions the West Seattle Transportation Coalition had for Mayor Murray’s transportation adviser Andrew Glass Hastings; our story’s coming up later (spoiler alert on that point, no clear answer).
8:14 AM: As commenters are pointing out – there’s still a residual backup, so if you can wait to leave, that’s still good advice. We also were asked if SDOT tweeted about the crash (here’s the context for asking) – the first tweet we see was at 7:42 am, an hour after the earliest reports we received.
Three cases in West Seattle Crime Watch – one spotted on the police-report map, two from reader reports – all three ahead:
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