Affordable, livable housing: What do you want the city to do to ensure/enhance it?
Affordable, livable housing. Everybody needs it. Not everybody can find it. So the city’s trying to figure out what it can/should do, to fix that. To help shape its Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, it’s working with an advisory committee. Among its members, West Seattle community advocate Cindi Barker, who says the committee met for the first time last week and is now looking ahead to three community meetings at which you can be heard.
Above is the slide deck with issues and data put before the committee, but you might already know in your heart and gut what it would take to deal with this issue. The key “starting points” for discussion are growth, affordability, recent development, and race/social justice. Back to the upcoming meetings: They’re all outside West Seattle, but the first two are not far:
South Seattle: Ethiopian Community Center (Map)
Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Central District: Garfield Community Center (Map)
Thursday, November 20, 2014, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Northgate: Northgate Community Center (Map)
Thursday, December 04, 2014, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Meeting format:
6:00 pm, doors open
6:30 – 6:45, introductions and remarks
6:45 – 7:30, Survey of meeting attendees (hand held survey devices so people can respond to presentation material and provide direct input)
7:30 – 8:00, display stations of information and interaction with staff and committee members present
The full committee roster, by the way, is listed on the right side of this city webpage. They are expected to get recommendations to the mayor and council by the end of May.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Thief caught on camera; car prowl; phone scam; SPD’s new way to write tickets
Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight, starting with a thief caught on video:
That video shows a theft in the Me-Kwa-Mooks Park area last week, according to Heather, who shared the video. (The thief gets out of the car at :46 in.) In case you can’t quite tell, she says, “He was driving a Nissan Murano with tinted windows and a sunroof. He took a pressure washer.” Call police if you know who that is.
#2 – CAR PROWL: Quick heads-up from Blair – “Car break-in on 32nd and Barton Saturday night by the Barton Pea Patch.”
#3 – PHONE SCAM: In case you get this call, here’s a warning from Melissa:
A man (“David Johnson”) with an accent (India, it sounded like) claiming to be from the “US Treasury Inspector” wanted my lawyer’s contact info regarding a legal action involving me, claiming I was notified months ago and that someone would be arriving tomorrow to arrest me. He was very good, even providing names and contact info when I pressed him, but nothing was adding up. I demanded a number to call him back (after a couple prompts, after he oh so helpfully offered to simply transfer me), then I hung up and immediately called the Seattle Police non-emergency line. They knew what this was instantly and did confirm that it was a scam, and if they call back, tell them you’ve already spoken to the police and hang up.
While every fiber of my being was telling me this was a scam, I did have a few bad moments since I still in bed and not totally awake yet. (It was before 7:30 am, so I guess they weren’t super sharp about the time zone thing…)
#4 – NO MORE HANDWRITTEN TICKETS: In case you missed the SPD announcement of a new electronic system, read about it here.
Followup: Emily’s misdelivered wedding ring has been found!
On Saturday morning, we published Emily’s plea, trying to find out who might have the package containing her wedding ring, remade for her upcoming 10th anniversary, after its delivery … to the wrong address. No one knew WHICH wrong address. But Emily just sent this happy news:
MY RING HAS BEEN FOUND! The delivery driver went to every house on his route…at this house in particular, they saw the news story and didn’t even realize it was in their screen door. My faith in humanity has been restored :)
Thanks go out to everyone who helped look!
West Seattle traffic alert: Low bridge reopens after closure
3:48 PM: SDOT says the low bridge is closed right now because of “police activity.”
3:52 PM: And it’s now open again.
4:04 PM: According to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske, the incident involved someone threatening suicide. He says, “The officers successfully talked him down.” (Every time we mention suicide, we also want to be sure you know about the 24/7 resource in our area, the Crisis Clinic hotline – 206-461-3222.)
WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide launching soon – share your event(s)/info with everyone!
We’re working on the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide right now – our traditional one-stop page for EVERYTHING holiday-ish that’s happening in this area between mid-November and early January – and want to nudge you to send info about anything that might fit! Including but not limited to:
*Restaurant/bar hours (or closure plans) for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s
*Holiday open houses at local businesses
*Holiday-season donation drives
*Tree lightings
*Tree lots/wreath sales
*Concerts/singalongs
*Theater performances
*Holiday church/synagogue services
*Holiday light/decorations displays
*Bazaars/art sales/trunk shows
*Other holiday celebrations to which the community’s invited
As with other event announcements, we request that you send the info:
*Via e-mail – editor@westseattleblog.com
*At least a week in advance (but the sooner, the better, even weeks/months ahead)
*Text only, PLEASE – we cannot easily pull details off a flyer/poster. You can attach those *too* if desired, but please put the info in the body of your e-mail.
*Weblinks are very much welcome. Facebook links are OK but a link to your website, which means the widest possible accessibility/readership, is better.
Thank you! (We do update the guide daily throughout the season, but the more info we have even BEFORE we launch version 1.0, the better.)
Noticing more big ships at anchor instead of docked? Here’s why
While sizable ships anchor off Don Armeni from time to time, seldom have we seen a loaded-with-containers cargo ship there, appearing almost close enough to touch, as did the OOCL London this morning. Over the weekend, Beach Drive Blog pointed out the two cargo ships visible at anchor across the Sound, off Manchester; from West Seattle, you can see two more ships anchored off Magnolia.
It’s a visible effect of an alleged “slowdown” that comes six months into West Coast contract talks between the ILWU, which says it’s “congestion,” and the terminal operators of the Pacific Maritime Association, which accuses the ILWU of “orchestrated job actions.” According to this online schedule, OOCL London was to dock at Terminal 18 yesterday; one of the ships waiting off Manchester, the Hyundai Force, was to dock at T-18 Saturday.
The pace of work is reported to have picked up at both ports today – at the Port of Seattle per its seaport division managing director Linda Stryk in a phone conversation with WSB, and Tacoma per this an updated “operation status” online. Styrk calls the increase in ships at anchor a “snowballing effect” of last week’s “very low productivity,” while adding, “productivity improved over the weekend” but warning “it will take some time to catch up with the snowball effect.” Since the Port’s only role in this is as a “landlord,” as Styrk put it, the best they can do is engage in “advocacy and raising concerns up the flagpole, encouraging both parties to come to terms.” That advocacy, she added, includes making note of the effects the slowdown is having on exports. “People recognize that low productivity is not good for jobs; hopefully the advocacy of impacts will help them keep moving in a more-positive direction.”
TUESDAY AFTERNOON NOTE: The Hyundai Force left Manchester today for Tacoma.
Congrats and good luck! WSHS swimmers headed for state
Thanks to Danette Carufel for sharing the photo and report:
Two West Seattle High School swimmers will be going to the State Swimming Championships next Friday/Saturday at King County Aquatic Center. Gabby Carufel, junior (left), had a state qualifying time in the 100-yard backstroke of 1:01.77. Anne Williamson, senior (right), is competing in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.62. Go, Wildcats!!!
Next step toward Watton family’s pocket-park gift: Teardown
This isn’t the only house being demolished in West Seattle today, but we’re pretty sure it’s the only one with a backstory like this: It’s the house at 3823 SW Willow in Gatewood that was mentioned here three months ago, as Seattle Parks notified neighbors about the plans to turn it into a pocket park, thanks to a “reserved life estate donation” from George Watton, who lived there with wife DeLayne Watton for more than half a century. He built the house after returning home from World War II and had arranged the donation of the site, plus money to cover demolition, long before his death last year at age 95 (his wife died in 2007). Parks has said that after the site is cleared – today’s teardown follows a long period of more-gentle “deconstruction” – they will embark on site restoration and turf establishment, to be complete by next spring.
P.S. Thanks to Joseph for sharing the photo!
ADDED: And thanks to Ron for this view hours later, as the final wall of the house was brought down:
Reader report: Words of gratitude for a West Seattle neighbor
A message like this might usually end up in the WSB Forums‘ Rant/Rave section, but it arrived in our inbox, and a Monday morning seemed like the time for some good news. From Kelly:
I just wanted to say THANK YOU to the woman who is currently raking leaves off the sidewalk (which is also the primary bike route in/out of our neighborhood) and the Delridge onramp to the bridge. That street flooded horribly earlier this week because of leaves in the storm grate and was dangerous. The water was almost over the sidewalk. My husband and I were driving by so I couldn’t thank her myself but I hope you’ll share my deep appreciation!
Shared!
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday updates
(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
So far, a relatively average commute here and regionally, according to all the sources we’ve checked. (Two of the cameras we regularly show are down, by the way.)
VETERANS DAY TOMORROW: Tuesday’s holiday means, among other things, no school and some transit changes, including “reduced weekday” service for Metro and no Water Taxi service.
SPEAKING OF THE WATER TAXI … its first-ever “strategic plan” is out. Eastside service? New West Seattle terminal? Tax increase? See what it says.
SOUNDERS TONIGHT: We should mention that Sounders FC plays Dallas at C Link, 7:30 tonight,
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