Update: Two police responses tonight, Junction & Highland Park
Lots of questions about two sizable police responses tonight. Here’s what we have found out:
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The response this past half-hour at California and Oregon in The Junction came in as a possible shooting, but that turned out NOT to be the case, according to Southwest Precinct Lt. Paul Leung, who says one person suffered minor injuries. WSB’s Christopher Boffoli reports from the scene that it’s a possible case of assault.
Earlier this evening, 9th/Highland Park Way was closed for a while; that was because of a major police response related to an armed robbery at an area business, Lt. Leung says. The suspect was seen going into another business; police converged, guns drawn, and arrested him.
SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE ON HIGHLAND PARK HOLDUP: SPD has just released more information on the Highland Park robbery – saying the robber held up the 16th/Holden 7-11 and then went to another mini-mart to buy lottery tickets with the proceeds.
West Seattle wildlife: Stop and smell the … dandelions!
It’s not just nuts that will stop a squirrel in her tracks. Trileigh Tucker shares the photos:
I encountered this incredibly photogenic squirrel foraging along the south part of the Lincoln Park beach. She appeared to be a nursing mother; maybe eating the dandelions somehow provides special nourishment to provide for her young?
Trileigh writes about nature and publishes more of her photos at naturalpresencearts.com.
Traffic-alert update: SB I-5 fully reopened after incident by West Seattle Bridge exit
7:48 PM: There’s an emergency response on southbound I-5 just before the West Seattle Bridge exit. Two people have texted saying it appeared to involve someone on foot or who fell/got out of a vehicle. That’s all we have for now; if you have to head this way, use another route TFN.
9:34 PM: The scene is cleared, according to this tweet from a State Patrol spokesperson:
SIDE NOTE: Not related but while we are talking about traffic – remember that Northbound 99 closes for the weekend at 10 pm, with lane realignment and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon happening during the closure.
West Seattle biznote: Styling Studio closing to make way for 3210 California development
That little building at 3230 California SW is about to end its 40+-year run as a West Seattle hair salon, according to the proprietor of the one there now, Styling Studio. It was built in 1945 and is on the South Admiral site where work will start this year on the 134-apartment 3210 California mixed-use project. Styling Studio proprietor Robert Lopez contacted WSB to let us know June 30th is its final day. He says, “I tried to find another space, but negotiations fell through, and I’ve joined the staff at Belli Capelli, at 3902 California Ave SW, another longtime West Seattle hair establishment.”
3210 California’s land-use approval came in a month ago, as reported here; this week, its developer, Intracorp, filed for the shoring/excavation permit. We have asked for an update on when they expect to start demolition and construction, and are checking with other businesses about their plans. (If yours is among them and you see this before we contact you, please e-mail editor@westseattleblog.com with info on where you are going, as Robert did – thank you.)
Update: Seattle Public Schools might be changing superintendents again: José Banda ‘finalist’ for Sacramento job
11:06 AM: Bombshell from Seattle Public Schools on the first day of summer break – the district might be looking for a new superintendent.
After two years, José Banda announced he is a finalist for the same job in Sacramento. That district has fewer students than Seattle – 43,000, according to its website. He and school board president Sharon Peaslee have sent letters to the community here via e-mail in the past half-hour; Peaslee’s letter says Banda has family ties in California. Both will be meeting the media for a 1 pm briefing today. Banda’s most recent public West Seattle visit was last Saturday night, at the Chief Sealth International High School commencement ceremony (WSB photo at right).
He became superintendent one year after the board fired the late Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson; Susan Enfield, who was interim superintendent for that year, is now superintendent of Highline Public Schools south of Seattle. Goodloe-Johnson was Seattle superintendent for four years, succeeding Raj Manhas, who also held the job for four years.
ADDED 11:43 AM: According to the Sacramento Bee, Banda is not “a” finalist for the job there, but “the” finalist. And as usual when it comes to Seattle Public Schools news, there’s more background, discussion, and context in coverage at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com. Here’s Peaslee’s letter:
Update: West Seattleite Karen Sykes missing on Mount Rainier
10:27 AM: A photographer and writer from West Seattle is missing on Mount Rainier. If you don’t know Karen Sykes in person or by name, you might know her by her Flickr handle, under which we have run dozens of her photos here on WSB – “old desolate.” Her friend Don Geyer e-mailed to say that today is the second day of a search-and-rescue operation for Karen; he says she “was separated from her hiking partner while hiking to Owyhigh Lakes on Wednesday.” According to Don, King County Search and Rescue, “along with other agencies, had 35 SAR personnel searching for her, with the help of dogs and two helicopters. (More search info is in this Tacoma News-Tribune report.) They resumed the search this morning at 8:00 am.” Karen is an experienced hiker who has written books including “Hidden Hikes of Western Washington” and also wrote a weekly hiking column for the Seattle P-I; this June 2004 column was about the area where she is being sought.
3:55 PM: The News-Tribune reports that searchers are still at work but are under orders to stop for the night by 9:30 pm.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Searchers are out again today, report our partners at The Seattle Times.
West Seattle Friday: Free swim; free movie; anniversary party; rummage sale; more
(Thursday sunrise, photographed by Mark)
Five highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, where you will find many more:
BIG RUMMAGE SALE: Until 4 pm today and again 8:30 am-4 pm on Saturday, Shorewood Christian School‘s “Massive Parking Lot Sale” is happening, but NOT at the Shorewood campus – you’ll find it outside Freedom Church in Arbor Heights. “We have THOUSANDS of items to sell. Each are individually priced, in working order, clean, and categorized! 100+ families contribute to this sale! Tons of great items!!!! It’s a must-see event,” per the announcement. (35th and Roxbury)
FREE SWIM AT SOUTHWEST POOL: School’s-out celebration for young swimmers – details in our calendar listing. 4:30-5:30 pm. (2801 SW Thistle)
COMMUNITY ACUPUNCTURE PROJECT’S ANNIVERSARY PARTY: Community Acupuncture Project of West Seattle is three years old, and invites you to celebrate tonight at its center in The Junction, 6-9 pm, with food, drinks, music; details in our calendar listing. (4545 44th SW)
FREE MOVIE NIGHT: Highland Park Improvement Club invites you and your family to the movies, doors open 6:30 pm, movie at 7, title and other details here. (12th/Holden)
BOBCAT BOB AT C & P: Bob “Bobcat” Rice plays C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) tonight, 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
MORE NIGHTLIFE … and other events, on our calendar!
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday updates; weekend NB 99 reminder
(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Friday! Our commute watch is under way. First, a reminder:
NORTHBOUND 99 WEEKEND CLOSURE: 10 pm tonight until 5 am Monday morning, Northbound 99 will be closed between the West Seattle Bridge and the north end of downtown so WSDOT can continue re-aligning the roadway west of the stadiums, as explained here. The closure also covers the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon, which will be used by other roads around the city – (full list here).
One more finale at ‘Original Arbor Heights’: Last crossing
Here in the wee hours of the first full day of summer vacation for thousands of local kids, we have one more scene from the last day of classes, ever, at the “Original Arbor Heights,” as dubbed by our trusty parent correspondent. Also nicknamed, that’s “The Famous Mr. Wilkie” in the crosswalk, last one to enlist the crossing guards’ assistance before the soon-to-be-demolished old school went out of service. Reports our correspondent:
(He is) the heart and soul of The Original Arbor Heights Elementary school. Did you know that he went to kindergarten in the same Room 4 in which he has been teaching? Yup. Known to many, loved by all.
AH will share Boren with STEM for the next two years, while its brand-new school is built on this same campus.
Celebration of life planned June 29th for Lynda Nield
Friends of Lynda Nield, who you might have known from her time working in West Seattle, are getting the word out about her celebration of life coming up in North Seattle June 29th, after her sudden, early death two weeks ago:
Lynda Susan Nield, 50, formerly of Cumberland, RI; Tempe, Arizona; and Shoreline, Washington, passed away accidentally on June 6, 2014, while swimming in Costa Rica.
She was the beloved daughter of Eunice I. Nield of Lincoln and Joseph G. Nield, Jr. and Allie Nield of No. Smithfield. She is also survived by her brother Joseph F. Nield and his wife Karen of Cumberland; her sisters Karen Nield Kinch and her husband Michael of Cumberland; Lori Nield Riel and her husband Denis of Pascoag; and her step-sisters Marilou Lowery and her husband Robert, and Traci Anne Egermayer and her husband Robert of New Jersey.
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West Seattle-residing sheriff’s deputy charged with 3 felonies
The King County Sheriff’s Office deputy jailed and charged Thursday with three felonies is a West Seattle resident. That’s according to the lengthy document charging 49-year-old Darrion Holiwell with promoting prostitution, theft, and a drug violation. The charges filed against him Thursday have been widely reported in regional media; we obtained the charging papers, which cite a Puget Ridge address for Holiwell, identified as a SWAT team member and as KCSO’s lead firearms instructor, as well as owner of a private business that “specializes in firearms training, tactical training, and the sale of tactical equipment.” That business, the charging documents say, took Holiwell and his wife to Las Vegas for a trade show in 2012, leading to a discussion of her possibly working there as an exotic dancer, something she had done elsewhere before. That in turn eventually led to her working from a South King County condo as an “escort,” it is alleged, even as the Holiwells’ marriage faltered, and that is what he is charged with helping facilitate, as a form of domestic violence against her. Some of the evidence on that charge came from Holiwell’s iPhone, seized when his Puget Ridge home was searched in mid-April as part of the investigation, the court documents say, while simultaneously another warrant was served at the KCSO gun range in Ravensdale, where he was at work.
Other items police say they found at his house in the April search included drugs, mostly steroids and substances used in conjunction with them. And the charging documents make note of what was not found during the search of Holiwell’s house: A “large gun safe” was empty, though that is where unnamed “witnesses” told police he stores his “high-quality personal firearms,” and searchers didn’t find a single gun or round of ammunition anywhere in the house. The theft charge, meantime, involves allegations that Holiwell sold KCSO ammunition and other property, mostly to create an unauthorized “slush fund” of sorts. You can read more about the case in this report from our partners at The Seattle Times, who covered Sheriff John Urquhart‘s Thursday afternoon briefing about this case and an investigation of whether others might be involved. Holiwell has been on leave since mid-April and is jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail, scheduled to answer the charges next month. He was taken into custody Thursday morning at the King County Courthouse downtown, according to the arrest report.
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