West Seattle Crime Watch: Early-morning investigation; wheelchair-theft attempt; bicycle found
Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes: First, this is developing – Seattle Police are investigating another possible strong-arm robbery in the Roxhill Park area. Seattle Fire medics were sent to check out someone found unconscious in the bushes by the bus stop on the south side of SW Barton, reported as a possible victim of a robbery/assault. We’ll follow up later this morning to see what police determined.
Meantime, Creighton reports two incidents in Admiral:
Both incidents happened in front of my house during the daytime at 37th Ave SW and Admiral, just north of Belvedere Viewpoint Park.
Wednesday morning after breakfast, between 9 am and 11 am, someone started to steal my visiting-from-out-of-town handicapped father’s wheelchair from the side of my house, where it was placed to stay dry and out of the hard rain. Upon searching the neighborhood, we found it one house south of ours, stashed in the bushes. It looked like they started to steal it, but either decided it was too big to toss in their vehicle, or I’m hoping had a change of heart and realized it was bad karma to steal a handicapped man’s wheelchair.
Did they come back and try again later that day? Later that same day, after dinner (between 6 pm and 8 pm) I went out to clean my wife’s late-model MDX and discovered all of the contents of the glovebox (registration, manual, etc), center console and change dish were missing. We’re pretty sure we locked the doors, but there was no sign of forced entry to the car so we’re scratching our heads. Both incidents have been reported to the Seattle PD using the CORP online reporting tool.
Finally, Brian found this bike in Highland Park:
Brian describes it as a “Univega bike with Anacortes Cycle sticker.” If it’s yours, contact police and refer to case 14-242562.
Skies Over West Seattle, midsummer edition: Meteors on the way
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ever wish for advance alert of an upcoming meteor shower/eclipse/etc. – and/or wonder “What’s that bright ‘star’ up there?” This should help. It’s our periodic feature by West Seattle’s own Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen, famed for her solstice/equinox sunset watches, among other things.
By Alice Enevoldsen
Special to West Seattle Blog
Happy summer, everyone! I, like many, did not enjoy our recent heat wave. I’m Seattleite to my bones, and temperatures outside 50-80°F send me searching desperately for relief. Lucky us, hot days make for comfortable stargazing nights. You’ll often hear me advocate for the winter skies, because they’re so pristine (whenever we can see the stars through the clouds), and the long nights give you lots of things to see. The benefit to summer skies is that you don’t have to bundle up, and you’re probably thrilled to spend an hour or two with an excuse to just relax in the cool night air, and we do (believe it or not) have more clear nights in summer.
Hey, what’s that?
Mars and Spica — This pair, a star and a planet, have been giving us quite a show every night in the West as soon as it begins to get dark, around 10 pm. If you’ve seen something in the sky and wondered what it was, I’m betting it is these two. Spica is a brilliant white, and Mars has a blush of a tan or salmon color to it.
You may be inexperienced at noticing the different colors of the stars, so this is a perfect chance to push yourself a little further. Go out tonight – if we get a break in the clouds – and look at this pairing. First, just try to decide if they appear to be the same color or different colors. Then, keep observing and start thinking about what you would name those two different colors. Try looking away at some other stars and then bringing your eyes back.
Another major difference to watch for in the pair is that Spica will twinkle, and Mars will not. Planets don’t twinkle (an easy way to remember this is that the song doesn’t go “Twinkle, twinkle little planet …”).
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After 2+ years, new monorail initiative reported to be ballot-bound
In spring 2012, we reported on activist Elizabeth Campbell‘s proposal for a new monorail company, to be called the Century Transportation Authority, CenTran for short, with a line running from Ballard to West Seattle, like the last monorail proposal. Haven’t heard much about it in the interim, but today, PubliCola reports that Campbell has gathered enough valid signatures – just under 4,600 – to get this on the Seattle ballot in November. If voters say yes, CenTran’s website says, it would start out with a $5 license-tab tax to raise money to plan the monorail system.
Followup: Fauntleroy Schoolhouse’s lesson in crowdlending
Last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy inside the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, potential investors gathered to find out more about the crowdlending push intended to bring in the final half-million dollars needed for fixing up the nonprofit-owned building. As mentioned in our preview, the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency is working with Bellevue-based social-investment facilitator Semble. FCSA’s Kevin Wooley explained that the project’s only been up on the Semble website a week, and they’re already more than halfway to their goal.
Wooley told the ~30 people in attendance that most of the money would go toward the ongoing roof-renovation project, and they hope to raise it within a month in order to get the roof work finished before the rainy season. A few other jobs are included, all work that FCSA promised would be done after its purchase of the former Seattle Public Schools property four years ago. Semble reps explained at the gathering that it’s an investment, not a donation, and interest will be paid – information on the project’s Semble webpage (see it here) includes the prospectus, FCSA financials over the past three years, and the interest rate, all of which you can take into account before deciding whether to become a lender.
Delridge Day updates: ‘The Lego Movie’ outdoor screening the night before; festival music schedule out
That flyer is just in, courtesy of Pete Spalding, one of the organizers of next month’s Delridge Day festival. It’s a new addition to the celebration – an outdoor movie in the Delridge Community Center park the night before Delridge Day. That means at 9 pm Friday night, August 8th, you’re invited to the free screening of “The Lego Movie.” Then on Saturday, August 8th, 11 am-3 pm, the Delridge Day festival takes over the park; the music lineup is already out:
11:00 Bill Wolford – world music, alt folk
12:00 Ellis Brothers – jazz
1:00 The Slags – rock and reggae
2:00 Roo and the Few – Americana
The park is at Delridge/Genesee, south and west of Delridge Skatepark. More festival details to come.
Another Terminal 5 note: 80-foot radio tower (re-)planned
As reported here yesterday, the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 in West Seattle is going mostly idle, with a modernization project being planned. But our regular daily search of city permit applications turned up a project proposed for part of the site, potentially of interest to northeast-facing West Seattle: Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe is reopening the permit process for a proposed 80-foot-high radio-transmitting tower between two of its tracks at Terminal 5, close to the corner of Harbor and Spokane. A construction permit for the “tripod-style” low-power tower was originally issued in 2006 (the map above is from a related notice), but it wasn’t built; when a permit extension was sought in 2009, the document included a notation that the railroad company and port were having “property and indemnity discussions.” That extension was granted but expired in 2011; the railroad has just applied for a new construction permit – here’s the city-website page.
The original site plan notes, “Antennas mounted to this freestanding antenna tower will be mounted with as little projection from the tower structure as is feasible. External conduits, climbing structures, fittings, and other projections from the external face of the support structure will be minimized to the extent possible.”
Update: Decommissioned USS Constellation to pass West Seattle next week soon
(US Navy photo: USS Constellation in Elliott Bay during Seafair, 1996)
Advance notice for everyone who is interested in what passes our shores: The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Constellation is scheduled to be towed from Bremerton one week from today (Thursday, July 31st), which means you’ll be able to see it – at a distance – from Alki Point southward. Its eventual destination will be Brownsville, Texas, where it will be broken up. It’s been mothballed in Bremerton for almost a decade, after being decommissioned in 2003 and then towed here from San Diego, following 42 years in service. A time for its departure hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll be watching in the days ahead.
SIDE NOTE: One day before the Constellation’s move, active Navy ships participating in the Seafair Fleet will be visible from even more of the West Seattle shore. Here’s our recent preview of the July 30th Parade of Ships.
ADDED: Just noticed that the Kitsap Sun now reports this isn’t likely to happen until sometime the week of August 4th.
West Seattle food/drink notes: Treehouse Lounge; Blackboard Bistro; Spoke & Food; new Alki tour…
Four food/drink notes today, starting with two venues getting new looks:
(In-progress photo courtesy Mind Unwind/Treehouse Lounge – see the ‘after’ view tonight)
GROUND-FLOOR ‘TREEHOUSE’: Krystal Kelley from Mind Unwind at 2206 California SW in The Admiral District says its Treehouse Lounge is reopening at 4 pm today after a big change – more like an exchange: The lounge will now be on the ground floor, while Mind Unwind‘s adult art classes (etc.) will be on the second floor. The work’s been under way for about two weeks. “Many people have been walking by worrying that the art gallery is going away, it isn’t…in fact, it is becoming even more robust.” It’ll reopen with 4-10 pm hours Tuesdays-Saturdays, serving “specialty sake cocktails, wine, and beer,” plus, Kelley adds, “Food service will be coming in September. We are 21 and over until we introduce food, then we will be family friendly.”
BLACKBOARD BISTRO: South of Admiral, Blackboard Bistro is scheduled to reopen tomorrow after 4+ days of renovation work (extra Wednesday-Thursday closures following BB’s usual Monday-Tuesday days off). The restaurant is in its fifth year at 3247 California.
DINE OUT TUESDAY FOR SPOKE & FOOD: The annual dining-out fundraiser encouraging people to ride their bikes to dinner is next Tuesday (July 29th), 5-10 pm, and two local venues are on the list this year – Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor) at Seacrest, and Proletariat Pizza in White Center. The Outdoors For All Foundation gets 20 percent of the proceeds on Spoke & Food night; here’s the official citywide flyer.
SPEAKING OF BIKING AND DINING … A new tour launched on Alki this month combines both. Taste Seattle Food Tours, owned by West Seattleites Felicia Watson and Roen Ako, is now offering bicycle tours at 11 am Fridays and Saturdays with stops at five beach-area eateries, starting at Marination and ending at another WSB sponsor, Salty’s. They invite locals and tourists alike to try it out; you’ll find more information on their company’s website.
West Seattle Thursday: Summer Concerts at Hiawatha begin! Plus…
Thanks to Myrtle for sharing the Wednesday afternoon double-rainbow view! Perfect promise of more summery weather returning – in time for tonight’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha show, and more:
SAVE LIVES: Be a blood donor – today, with the Bloodmobile at the Clock Tower Plaza on the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, 10:30 am-4:30 pm, with a 12:30 pm-1:30 pm break. More in our calendar listing. (6000 16th SW)
MISSIONmoto CELEBRATION: Afterschool program celebrating its success with youth rebuilding a classic motorcycle, 3 pm at Southwest Youth and Family Services – details in our calendar listing. (Delridge/Alaska)
‘SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA’ KICKOFF: Summery weather is scheduled to return just in time. 6:30 tonight on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, it’s the first of this year’s six Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with sponsors including WSB. Free and fun – bring dinner, family, friends, chair/blanket, and enjoy the music of Eclectic Approach. P.S. Little ones? Note that Caspar Babypants is up next week, on 7/31. (2700 California SW, but on the Walnut side)
INTERESTED IN SOLAR POWER? Solarize Southwest has a workshop in West Seattle at 6:30 tonight, Dakota Place Park. (California/Dakota)
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST: 7 pm, Greenstage presents Shakespeare’s comedy at Lincoln Park – details in our calendar listing. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
EVEN MORE … for today/tonight, if you check our calendar!
Admiral Theater’s future: ‘Ticking clock’ forcing decision soon
(June WSB photo: Film-projection room at The Admiral)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
More than a year ago, we told you about the Admiral Theater‘s hopes of renovations to ensure the historic moviehouse’s future.
It hasn’t happened yet. And its management/ownership is acutely aware of a “ticking clock” sped up by the fact that – as they pointed out when we talked to them for the aforementioned story last year – film is going away as a method of delivering movies.
In a conversation with theater manager Dinah Brein, she explained they’ve already felt the effects. “Certain films weren’t even made in (film) like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ ‘Dallas Buyers Club,’ so we have to wait for it to go to DVD (before we can) show it.” For some movies, that timetable is relatively fast – for some, it’s not. And only one of the Admiral’s theaters is DVD-capable.
The Admiral simply must convert to digital. (It’s not alone, as continuing national coverage has documented.)
And for that, they have to have a commitment from the building’s owner Marc Gartin that they’ll be there for the long haul.
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Seal Sitters signing up volunteers one last time for this year’s pupping season
(2013 photo by Robin Lindsey)
If you’ve ever considered volunteering with Seal Sitters, there’s one more chance this season:
Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network’s final training for the 2014 seal pupping season will take place on August 9th. There will be no further trainings until late fall due to time constraints on volunteers.
Last year’s record-breaking pupping season stats in West Seattle (from late July’s first response to a newborn seal pup to the end of the year’s weaned pups) included 163 responses to marine mammals, including 66 positively identified seal pups. This 2014 season has begun unusually early in West Seattle with responses in June to one full lanugo seal pup “Luigi,” a second premature pup, and full-term “Junebug” who is now in rehab at PAWS Wildlife Center.
TRAINING DATE:
Saturday morning, August 9, 2014
10 am – 12 pm (doors open at 9:30 am; plan to arrive early to register and receive paperwork – training begins promptly at 10)
Alki UCC Church 6115 SW Hinds, Seattle
Please RSVP on blubberblog for the training to assure seating.
*Note to parents: All children accompanying adults must be able to sit quietly through an almost-two-hour presentation (with break).
Unlike most marine mammal stranding networks, we encourage children to participate in Seal Sitters – supervised at all times, of course, by a parent or guardian. We are so proud of our amazing and dedicated volunteers who are on duty rain or shine – we hope you will join us!
A multi-media presentation will illustrate our educational work in the community and the unique challenges of protecting seals and other marine mammals in an urban environment. Included in the training is an overview of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network and biology and behavior of seals and other pinnipeds (due to time frame, supplementary off-season sessions will include more marine mammals of Puget Sound). For additional questions and info or to be placed on a contact list for future training opportunities, please e-mail us.
Contact info is here.
Terminal 5’s last cargo-ship call for now, after half a century
Moored on this murky day at the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 in West Seattle, the Westwood Olympia is the last ship scheduled for a T-5 call TFN. After 50 years as a cargo terminal, T-5 will be idle once this ship departs. We reported last month on the port’s plan to close T-5 while spending $5 million planning a modernization project, so that it can handle new mega-sized ships – but there’s no plan yet for where the port will get the up to one-quarter-billion dollars the project will cost. Port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB that “during the multi-year design and permitting phase of Terminal 5 Modernization, we will be working to attract interim maritime uses to this industrial facility.” Meantime, while other shipping lines that used it are moving to other Seattle terminals, Westwood ships are going back to Tacoma after 31 years, with its first call there scheduled for one week from today.
ADDED FRIDAY: For the record, here’s a Port memo about some of the terms related to the T-5 shutdown, as Eagle Marine Service moves on to sublease space on Harbor Island.
Arbor Heights Elementary: Demolition on hold pending hearing on new appeal
(WSB Tuesday photo of awaiting-demolition Arbor Heights Elementary)
Three years ago, demolition of the old Denny International Middle School was well under way within a month of the end of the school year. This year, though a month has passed since the last class at Arbor Heights Elementary School, the backhoes aren’t even onsite yet. That’s because the permits haven’t been finalized, since another appeal is awaiting a hearing.
This is separate from the appeal that was argued and rejected in May, challenging the decision that a full environmental review wasn’t needed. This time, the appeal is for the land-use permit itself, and the fact that the demolition permit was approved in the same action. In all, the appeal statement by four area residents and district watchdog Chris Jackins – see it here – lists eight points.
Though a September 15th hearing date was announced by the appeal notice that appeared in this week’s first Land Use Information Bulletin, the city Hearing Examiner’s files now have it scheduled for August 11th. The move was at the request of the district, according to a letter in the online case files, which quotes district staff as saying the extra month would add $70,000 to the project cost.
SPS spokesperson Tom Redman confirms to WSB that appeals for both the Arbor Heights and Genesee Hill projects (the latter has a hearing August 5th, as reported here July 14th) are now pushing back the timeline: “Limited construction activities can be performed on-site, but the bulk of the work cannot commence at either site until we have received MUP [master use permit] approval from the City of Seattle.” He said the district doesn’t know yet if the opening of either new school will be delayed as a result. The new Arbor Heights is scheduled to open in two years, the new Genesee Hill in a year and a half.
P.S. Appeal hearings are open to the public, though only for observation, not for participation/comment. Next month’s August 5th Genesee Hill hearing and August 11th Arbor Heights hearing are both scheduled to start 9 am on those dates in the city Hearing Examiner’s headquarters on the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown.
West Seattle Wednesday: Entrepreneurs’ meetup; High Point farm stand; Fauntleroy Schoolhouse community investment; more…
(Busy marine traffic off Alki Point; photo by Danny McMillin, shared via WSB Flickr group pool)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for today/tonight:
FREE ENTERPRENEURS’ MEETUP: Noon-1 pm today at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction – drop by with your lunch plus “new ideas, old ideas, and business cards” and meet other entrepreneurs. (6040 California SW)
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN: Third of 12 Wednesdays this summer/fall when you can visit the High Point Market Garden Farm Stand 4-7 pm and buy organic produce that was grown just steps away. (32nd/Juneau)
GROUP RUN & BROOKS HAPPY ISLAND: 4 pm, “Brooks Run Happy Island” is at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and there’s a group run planned at 6 pm – details here. (California/Charlestown)
FAUNTLEROY SCHOOLHOUSE (HEARTS) COMMUNITY INVESTORS: 7 pm tonight, come to the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse to find out more about a new community-investment plan to help with the next round of upgrades and repairs as the schoolhouse moves toward its future as a fully functional community facility – here’s our preview. (9131 California SW)
MUSIC BINGO AT THE CASK: 7 pm at The Cask (WSB sponsor), guess the songs, play the game! Details here. (2350 California SW)
MORE NIGHTLIFE … live music, trivia, karaoke, more, all in separate listings on our calendar.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Thief takes Daily Dose tip jar
Coffee shops, be forewarned. Out of the WSB inbox this morning, from Cheryl:
I was working at The Daily Dose coffee shop at 5214 Delridge Way yesterday. Around 1:15 p.m. I was in the restroom as I heard the front door open. I shouted out “hello, I’ll be right out,: finished washing my hands and came out. No one was there and the door was left open. I decided whoever it was had quickly changed their mind and left. About 10 minutes later, I realized my tip jar was gone! The thief was swift and deliberate as it was seconds from the time I heard the front door open and came out of the restroom.
It’s not the loss of tip money (maybe $35), but the sense of violation. I hope they really needed it, or at least bought themselves a nice meal! I will be locking the door in the future while in the restroom.
Update: Comcast West Seattle outage blamed on ‘fiber cut’
9:13 AM: Thanks to Steve for the tip about a Comcast outage in Admiral. According to a tweet from @ComcastWA, it’s because of a “fiber cut” and should be fixed within an hour or so … let us know if that window passes and you’re still out.
9:43 AM UPDATE: Steve says the service is back up.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Rainy Wednesday updates; West Seattle Water Taxi trouble
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:12 AM: Be careful on rain-slick roads/paths/sidewalks this morning.
While we watch the morning traffic, only one advance alert to remind you of – Saturday (July 26) is Seafair Torchlight Night, and NB Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 5:30 pm-7:45 pm for the Torchlight Run (which is followed on 4th Avenue downtown by the Torchlight Parade – here’s the lineup – and here are the night’s bus reroutes).
8:06 AM: No West Seattle Water Taxi until 9 am “due to mechanical issues,” per text just in from King County. Service will resume then from Pier 50 with Melissa Ann (which usually takes a post-commute hiatus from the Vashon run then); we’ll check later on how things are looking for the afternoon.
2:32 PM: All’s now well with the Spirit of Kingston this afternoon, says the county, so West Seattle-Downtown service will continue as scheduled from here on out.
West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Home invasion’ robbers get away with thousands
12:52 AM: Police are searching for two people suspected in a reported ‘home invasion’ situation in Highland Park. Scanner-monitored information indicates shots were fired – with at least one casing found – but the victim was not reported injured and no medic crew has been summoned. This happened near 10th and Trenton (map); police, including a K-9 team, are looking for a woman and man who might be known to the victim. More info if/when we get it.
2:09 AM: Still no word of arrests. Robbery Unit detectives are joining the investigation.
NOON UPDATE: We’ve obtained the report from SPD. It says the victim told police he recognized the woman, by voice, as his wife, who he hasn’t (otherwise) seen in a month – both robbers, the report says, were wearing ski masks. The male robber fired two rounds, according to the victim, including one into the floor after tying him up and leaving him in the bathroom. The female robber, the victim said, demanded to know where “the money” was, and though the victim denied having any, she said she knew better, and eventually, according to the victim, they made off with $22,000 in cash.
West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 car prowls, with stolen items including ‘unmistakable’ skateboard
Thieves took Eron‘s skateboard in one of two car prowls for which we have reader reports tonight. Eron says it happened “in front of my house at 11th and Kenyon and my dog woke me up but not in time. … they took a lot of things; most of it was recovered by walking just around my block. The big score was a set of keys to nothing in this county and my custom longboard that I made from a vintage kids’ water ski. It is unmistakable. Yellow with red swirls and blue wheels. It is largely a sentimental loss and has very little ‘street’ value, as it is easily identified from any distance.”
Further south on 11th SW, in the 8800 block, Darcey reports: “Someone went thru my car last night. I left the door unlocked accidentally. Didn’t take anything- but we had nothing worth taking. Just threw stuff around, searching.”
P.S. Though local crime-prevention groups don’t meet again until September, you are now two weeks away from a prime chance to get together with your neighbors in support of safety and community – Night Out is Tuesday, August 5th, and you can sign up your block party by going here. (As always, we’ll be stopping by parties around West Seattle, and thanks to those who’ve already sent word of theirs without us even asking – editor@westseattleblog.com.)
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