West Seattle, Washington
10 Tuesday
11:02 AM: There’s always the possibility these two reports do NOT involve thefts, but in case you can help reunite items with their rightful owners, we’re sharing the reader reports. First, from North Delridge:
I had a package stolen from my porch on Thursday. At least I think it was stolen because it has been reported as delivered and my neighbors don’t have it. It was from Nordstrom but I don’t think it was labeled as such. It had two bras and a skirt. I live on 25th between Brandon and Findlay, right behind the Delridge Library.
Second, if you’re missing a suitcase, through theft or otherwise, a tipster says this turned up on an Admiral parking strip, and tweeted a photo:
It was still there as of first thing this morning, SW Stevens west of 38th SW.
11:48 AM NOTE: SPD tweets suggest the suitcase has been reported to police as “found property,” so if you’re the owner and don’t see this until later, check with them. (Also, see the comments below for an update from the finder.)
ADDED 2:20 PM: Just received a photo of a bicycle found in the greenbelt near Fauntleroy Church:
Morgan says it was there as of early afternoon, “in the Fenton Glen little ravine by the little path to the creek at the far end of Fauntleroy Church’s parking lot … sort of hidden behind a big cedar.”
Today is the last day of business, for now, for Firefly Café and Creperie in The Junction, writes its owner Charell Estby in this Facebook post. It’s been up for sale for half a year, she writes, and while it’s still listed and looking for a new owner, she has to move on. Firefly opened at California/Genesee in fall 2012 and has been involved in many community charity drives and donations along the way. Firefly is open today until 3:30 pm.
(Shell art on Alki, photographed by Lisa Ruiz)
Quiet Sunday – just what you need to recover from The Game, right? Here’s what we do have on the calendar:
LAST DAY FOR FREE TREECYCLING: If you still haven’t taken down the Christmas tree, maybe this will be incentive: This is the last day Seattle Public Utilities is accepting trees for free. (Until next year, and you really don’t want to keep it around THAT long …) You can take yours to the South Transfer Station, which is open 8 am-8 pm. (130 S. Kenyon)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, with five more vendors expected to be returning today. (44th/Alaska)
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: According to the WSUFF Facebook page, they’re experimenting with adding a second field today, for kids and beginners. 11 am, Walt Hundley Playfield. (34th/Myrtle)
TJ GRANT: 3-5 pm acoustic set at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – “smart, emotional lyrics and powerful delivery.” (5612 California SW)
LADIES’ MUSICAL CLUB: 3 pm, free concert of music for oboe, mezzo-soprano, and piano at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library. (2306 42nd SW)
CARL TOSTEN: 6:30-8:30 pm, the singer/songwriter/guitarist is live at Locöl. (7902 35th SW)
OF COURSE THERE’S MORE … on our calendar!
10:01 PM: Thanks to the caller who tipped us to the power outage that’s affecting almost 200 customers near South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and to the east, along the Duwamish River. It’s on the Seattle City Light map now (screengrab added, above). The map’s guesstimate of restoration time is just before 1 am, but please keep in mind, it could be much sooner or much later – no word of the cause yet.
P.S. See the mobile version of the SCL map by going here. If you’re out but in a different area, be sure to call 206-684-3000.
10:38 PM: Most of those affected are back on; the outage map now shows 18 still out, in the pockets off West Marginal Way SW. SCL still hasn’t disclosed the cause.
11:27 PM: We now have a response via Twitter:
@westseattleblog Cause was a faulty part on a utility pole. Crews quickly isolated/fixed the issue and restored power. Thank you
— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) January 11, 2015
The outage map shows two customers in the industrial area along the Duwamish are still out.
9:53 PM: Another victory of note tonight: Congratulations to West Seattle High School senior Taryn Smith, just crowned Miss Seattle 2015! More info to come.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: Thank you to Melinda Fredericks for the photos. She says Taryn is also varsity cheer captain at WSHS and, “She is an amazing woman, fantastic leader and will do even more amazing things in the future!” The Miss Seattle competition is part of the Miss America program. P.S. Video from the announcement last night is here.
After tonight’s 31-17 victory over Carolina, the Seahawks play for the NFC Championship one week from tomorrow, at noon January 18th. We already have the first neighborhood tailgate party announcement – noon to 4 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club:
Doors open at 11:30 AM. Come whoop it up with your 12th neighbors. Bring snacks or a dish to share. Bring your own beverages. Everyone is welcome at HPIC, no matter who you are rooting for.
HPIC’s at 12th/Holden. As the week goes on, we’ll have a list of other public parties – bars, restaurants, neighborhoods – share info via editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks and Go, Hawks!
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Baseball: 2014 Bronco Division champions)
We know, it’s all about football tonight. But if you have a young baseball player in your house, take note that West Seattle Baseball sent word this week that its spring-season registration is open, for 4- to 19-year-olds:
West Seattle Baseball is a 100% volunteer organization dedicated to teaching kids the game of baseball and giving them opportunities to get out on the diamond. In addition to regular season play, all kids ages 7 and older participate in post-season tournaments. Those kids wanting to continue playing have opportunities to play baseball well into the summer in programs such as All Star programs for ages 8-12 years old as well as summer recreation programs including the West Seattle Crush at the Pee Wee fields.
West Seattle Baseball hosts several summer all-star tournaments in West Seattle featuring some of the top teams in Western Washington.
West Seattle Baseball welcomes players of all experience levels. West Seattle Baseball is proudly affiliated with the national PONY Baseball organization. Our goals include teaching the fundamentals of baseball and good sportsmanship while building a sense of community among players and their families. Practices begin in March, and the West Seattle Baseball regular season runs from the beginning of April to early June. You can register today at westseattlebaseball.com.
Got a winning chili recipe? Maybe you even cooked it up for tonight’s game and won raves. The upcoming Fauntleroy Chili Cookoff could be your next playing field. Planners are looking for home-based chili chefs to compete. Meat or vegetarian, if your recipe is a winner, e-mail info@fauntleroyucc.org or call 206-938-4203 for competition details; the cookoff is 6:30-8 pm January 31st in the Fauntleroy Church Fellowship Hall. (If you’re more chili fan than chili chef, get it on your calendar now – more info here.)
(Photo courtesy South Seattle College: SkyCity Executive Chef Jeff Maxfield, SSC culinary alum)
Two weeks from tonight, 15 accomplished Seattle chefs will cook dinner for 300 people supporting the South Seattle College Foundation during “Gifts From the Earth.” Go here to see the full lineup and read their stories – award winners, entrepreneurs, hotel chefs, restaurant chefs, club chefs, SSC-alum chefs. Then make your reservation to support student scholarships and services via tickets to the event, 5 pm Saturday, January 24th, at Brockey Center on campus. The night includes silent and live auctions. And yes, there will be wine! Your tickets await, here.
Michael‘s bicycle is “instantly recognizable,” as he puts it. And now it’s gone … so he’s hoping that if you see it, you’ll be able to help him get it back. He’s part of the Alki Beach Creeps bike club; his “beach cruiser” bike was stolen in Pioneer Square. Call 911 if you see it.
No, the West Seattle Water Taxi won’t be featuring live music regularly – so far as we know – but it was the venue for a mini-concert on Friday morning, as you can see and hear in the video above. First we got a note from a rider wondering about the band; while researching, we received another note that solved the mystery – Stephanie from the West Seattle-based band Woodland explained that they were “filming a video of (the band’s) song ‘Coal Train Rain’ for NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert Series‘ contest. The contest draws thousands of entries from all over the country, for a chance to perform behind Bob Boilen’s desk for NPR Music in Washington, DC.” While on board the Spirit of Kingston, the band even managed a photo session:
Stephanie added that Woodland has a West Seattle gig coming up, January 26 at Locöl Barley & Vine; its full performance schedule is here.
Just heard from Harry’s Chicken Joint (6032 California SW; WSB sponsor), which is changing its hours because of tonight’s Seahawks playoff game – open 1-5 pm instead of the usual 4-8 pm. So if you want chicken for the game, get it early. Anybody else changing hours for the game, let us know in the comment section below – thanks!
(December 2014 photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
When the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 in West Seattle shut down last July, the vast empty space visible from the bridge caused doubletakes for weeks – no ships, no containers, no trucks. The modernization project expected to put it back into use is still at least three years – and up to a quarter-billion dollars – away from completion. But the port had said it was looking for interim uses, and this Tuesday, its commission will be briefed on what is apparently its most-likely prospect: Leasing space to Foss Maritime for projects including homeporting and supplying Arctic-drilling and support vessels for Shell and handling components for an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant planned near Prince Rupert, B.C.
The port’s been talking to Foss about this since before Terminal 5 closed last July, according to a memo by Seaport Managing Director Linda Styrk and Deputy CEO Kurt Beckett, published with the commission agenda that went online last Thursday – the T-5 details start on page 5:
The memo says the drilling support would involve homeporting eight vessels from fall through spring, until they head for summer work in Alaska, and handling equipment and supplies for the fleet.
(While the specific vessels are not mentioned, Shell vessels have come through Seattle before, for work at nearby Vigor – most notably two that had trouble later in Alaskan waters, the drill rigs Kulluk and Noble Discoverer, which were to come back in 2013 but were taken to Asia instead.)
In addition to the potential oil/gas exploration and LNG plant component work, the Port memo says, “Foss has identified additional prospects for breakbulk and bulk business” that it could add, possibly even including work for the port itself, involving helping get “… 100,000 tons of aggregates to Sea-Tac’s center runway repaving project. Vessels would deliver aggregates to T-5, where they would be transported to SeaTac International Airport over the road in a manner that would reduce air emissions and regional traffic congestion versus traditional routes.”
But to get any of this going, according to the memo, the port has to move fast, because Foss might need the space as soon as March and would need to start work ASAP on “tenant improvements” (though, as this Seattle Times report also notes, it has not yet won the contract for the LNG project). So this is all on the agenda for Tuesday’s commission meeting, 1 pm at the Sea-Tac Airport Conference Center. Commissioner Stephanie Bowman had told the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce in October that T-5 is “not going to be empty for long,” and now it appears that’s true.
P.S. The slide deck for Tuesday’s meeting also touches on the plans to deepen both waterways at Harbor Island; the timeline for that work is much further into the future, listed now as 2021-2025 for the West Waterway, which T-5 fronts.
(Photo by Don Brubeck)
Tonight’s the night … Seahawks vs Panthers, 5:15 pm. 12s are on the skyline, on the flagpoles, in the windows, everywhere. And in our calendar highlights for today/tonight, you’ll find these two:
TAILGATE IN HIGHLAND PARK! Highland Park Improvement Club hosts a neighborhood tailgate party on game days and tonight, the doors open at 5 pm. All welcome. Details in our calendar listing. (12th/Holden)
CHEER AT FEEDBACK LOUNGE: The game’ll be on the big screen at the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), which opens at 11:30 am, and Happy Hour will be under way, starting at 3 pm. (6451 California SW)
Also today/tonight:
DELRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER HAIRCUT FUNDRAISER: Second of five Saturdays, 8:30 am-3:30 pm, when you can donate to Delridge CC while getting a free haircut from Rudy’s Barbershop stylists in the Airstream on the southeast side of the center. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
TILDEN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: School-shopping for K-5? Interested parents are invited to come tour Tilden School (WSB sponsor) and meet its teachers and specialists, 10 am-noon. (4105 California SW)
NW MONTESSORI OPEN HOUSE: 10 am-noon open house for parents interested in Northwest Montessori. (7344 35th SW)
BABY IN THE HOUSE? ON THE WAY? ‘EARLY DAYS’ NOW ON SATURDAYS TOO! 10:30 am-12:30 pm at Nurturing Expressions (WSB sponsor), the new second weekly session of the drop-in support group Early Days for parents of babies up to 1 year, and expectant parents too. (4746 44th SW)
THE BURNZ: Live in-store show at Easy Street Records, 7 pm. (California/Alaska)
SUNDODGER, DEAD LANGUAGE, VESTER … live at 9 pm at The Benbow. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
VANOWEN ALBUM-RELEASE SHOW: Stay at The Feedback after the game, and see/hear Vanowen perform their new album “Beautiful” live, 9:30 pm. (6451 California SW)
THAT’S JUST THE START … see more for today/tonight, by going directly to our calendar.
(WSB photos by Katie Meyer)
If you’ve been in the Easy Street Café any time in recent months, you’ve likely admired the work of Jini Dellaccio, famed for her rock ‘n’ roll photography, gone last year at 97. Now she’s being celebrated outside Easy Street.
On Friday afternoon, WSB’s Katie Meyer happened onto Don Rockwell painting from a self-portrait by Ms. Dellaccio. This is the final month of her show at ESR, building up to a closing party and sale on January 26th.
(Jim’s video of one of this year’s new songs, which you’ll likely recognize)
A little over a week since this year’s West Seattle Lights/Helmstetler Family Christmas Spectacular music-synched shows came to a close, and we’ve just heard from show designer/mastermind Jim Winder, with the final word on this year’s donations made by showgoers/fans – all of which goes to charities; Jim has the impressive five-year tallies too:
West Seattle Food Bank
2014
$2,008
1,050 lbs of Dried Foods5-Year Totals
$6,411.36
5,600 lbs of Dried FoodsNorthwest Parkinson Foundation
2014
$1,6085-Year Total
$5,344.36Grand Totals – Including Brian Teachout ($500), Dr. Kingston ($1200) and Pushing Boundaries ($391)
$13,846.71
So a BIG THANKS to the people of West Seattle and Maple Valley that made it all possible and VERY worthwhile!!
Jim Winder and Debi Selix, The Helmstetlers, and West Seattle Lights
(Double-take on “Maple Valley”? Jim added a show there for the 2014 holidays.
Three followups this evening:
NO JAIL FOR DRIVER WHO ASSAULTED BICYCLIST: In King County Superior Court this morning, Judge Regina Cahan sentenced 38-year-old Erika Soerensen, the woman found guilty of assault last year for driving into 33-year-old Jake Vanderplas as he rode his bicycle on 26th SW in North Delridge. Prosecutors had recommended 3 months in jail for Soerensen, who has no felony record; the judge sentenced her to 240 hours of community service, and revoked her driver’s license for a year.
BAIL HEARING FOR ALKI BURGLARY SUSPECT: The 32-year-old White Center man arrested Thursday afternoon after an Alki burglary remains jailed tonight. A judge set his bail at $20,000 for this case, but he also has a no-bail warrant for a probation violation. We obtained the probable-cause document after his bail hearing; it says that after he stole a package from inside an apartment building in the 6000 block of SW Stevens, a resident saw and followed him. The suspect allegedly took containers of prescription drugs out of the box and dropped the box. The witness confronted him, and he gave those unopened bottles to the witness. He asked the witness not to call police, and then fled; the witness called 911 and stayed in pursuit. Along the way, the documents say, the suspect dropped more medication, threw his backpack into a recycling bin, and eventually hid in a backyard treehouse along the 6200 block of Admiral Way. The witness waited nearby for police; they soon found the suspect, who surrendered. They tracked down his backpack and found a smaller bag inside it that contained “hand tools commonly used in the commission of burglaries.” A check of the court system shows the suspect’s record goes back at least a decade.
BEACH DRIVE DEATH INVESTIGATION: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office says they still don’t know what caused the death of a woman found in the water off Emma Schmitz Overlook early yesterday, but they know who she is. We added that information to our original report earlier this evening.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:05 PM: If you think some crime suspects get out of jail too quickly now – wait until next month, when, according to a story KING 5 broke last night, the county might not allow some of them to get booked into jail at all – they’ll be brought downtown, processed, and released. We just heard about this when Mayor Murray’s office sent a news release, saying he has sent County Executive Dow Constantine a letter objecting to it:
Mayor Ed Murray has serious concerns about a King County proposal to release additional felony suspects in property crime cases immediately after booking in downtown Seattle. The mayor outlined his concerns today in a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine.
“This proposed plan presents an unacceptable public safety risk to the residents of Seattle and will undermine our mutual efforts to reduce drug and property crimes,” wrote Murray. “This proposal also has serious potential policing and budget implications for the City of Seattle.” (Full letter embedded below)
On Feb. 1, King County plans to reduce the inmate population by instituting a “book-and-release” policy for several felony drug and property offenses, including auto theft, hit and run (with injury), malicious mischief, reckless endangerment, stolen property, theft, vehicle prowl and drug possession.
The proposed plan will mean that suspects arrested for these crimes in communities around King County will be brought to Seattle to be booked and then released onto the streets of downtown.
Currently, judges individually assess each suspect booked at the jail to decide whether to hold them pending trial. The proposed County plan would eliminate a judge’s review in favor of a presumption of release for these non-violent offenses.
In his letter, Murray outlined alternatives to reduce burdens on the jail (reducing the time between a suspect’s arraignment and trial), as well as reduce impacts on the city (remote booking or mandatory return transportation for suspects brought downtown for booking from jurisdictions outside of Seattle).
We’ve asked both the county and city for a copy of the memo that Murray says police chiefs received this week, and we’ve asked the executive’s office for reaction to Murray’s letter. We’ll add whatever we hear back.
5:13 PM UPDATE: To answer journalists’ questions including ours, the executive’s office set up a conference call last hour, and your editor here was one of four who asked questions. The toplines:
*This is a done deal at this point – it was part of the county budget approved by the County Council and Executive.
*Rather than a budget cut, this was a budget request that didn’t get granted. The County’s director of adult/juvenile detention William Hayes, one of three county reps on the call, said it would cost $5.2 million to open another section of the jail to handle the increase in daily population expected over the next year if everything was status quo – last year’s average daily county jail/detention population (Seattle and Kent) was 1900, 50 over projections, and this year was expected to be 1920. There’s room at the jail – but not the personnel to staff it. That request was not granted. This policy is the result.
*The key talking point was that this would mean a difference of a few hours or few days in time most of these suspects would have spent in jail. It was also stressed that police will have the option to say, we don’t want this suspect released. In response to that, we pointed out that police might not get immediate access to the suspect’s full record, or warrant status. The county reps say that if technical problems keep them from finding out whether there’s a warrant out for someone, they won’t be released until the status can be verified.
*Overall, the county reps (also including Constantine spokesperson Chad Lewis and a budget-office staffer, Krista Camenzind) said a “chronic structural gap with the county’s general fund” is to blame. 70 percent of the general fund goes to criminal justice, from deputies to prosecutors to defenders to judges to jails, and it’s been going down even as the population grows, with a $54 million gap to cover this time around. We asked, couldn’t the civil system have been cut instead of the criminal? Reply: It already had been.
*We asked for a copy of the memo that the mayor mentioned, received this week by police chiefs around the county pointing out which crimes this generally would affect. The county reps say that was a draft memo and they don’t have a final version yet because suggestions were made by chiefs at a meeting yesterday and some of them are being incorporated into the final version.
Overall, Lewis summarized, the county considers this change the “best of bad options that are available.” Hayes said it’s not as if the suspects are being set entirely free – they will have to come in for court dates, and even if they fail to appear, “at some point (the legal system) is going to catch up to them.”
The cynical person might wonder if this is a setup for a forthcoming ballot measure to ask for more criminal-justice funding, we suggested. Lewis said no, there are no plans to seek any kind of a funding measure for public safety; Constantine is pursuing the Best Starts for Kids initiative, Lewis pointed out, an early-childhood initiative that he hopes will reduce the need for criminal justice, years down the road.
ADDED 6:12 PM: The mayor’s office has provided, at our request, the document mentioned in Murray’s letter, circulated to police chiefs earlier this week. Read on for the full text – including the proposed list of crimes; note that not all property crimes are involved – for example, residential-burglary suspects would still be held as they are now, this memo says:
Before raising the 12th Man flag at noontime today, King County Executive Dow Constantine had an announcement intended to draw cheers from transit users:
Delivering on his initiative to better coordinate transportation services, King County Executive and Sound Transit Chair Dow Constantine today announced the launch of a free smartphone app that makes it easier for riders to plan trips with 11 transit agencies across Puget Sound.
The Puget Sound Trip Planner — available for Apple and Android mobile devices — allows riders to plan a trip that includes buses, rail, ferries, streetcars, and water taxis. It merges popular features available on existing trip planners and offers real-time predictions for bus arrivals.
More info, and the full list of participating agencies/services, can be found here.
Today we welcome Blue Dot Industries as a new member of the WSB sponsor team. Here’s what they want you to know:
Blue Dot Industries offers general contracting services, with affordable / competitive pricing, and with customer appreciation for the integrity in 
their business practices: “We ALWAYS guarantee our work.”
Licensed General Contractor Max Hewson and Interior Designer/Operations Manager Bernadette Stone are the Blue Dot Industries team. Max is a master carpenter and licensed electrician with 30 years’ experience building and renovating residential and industrial facilities.
Since they do most of the work, especially with the initial contact and discussions, 
their customers don’t also have to deal with a middleman – you’re always dealing with Max or Bernadette. While they have only been in West Seattle for a few years, Max is a Washington native, having grown up in the Grays Harbor area, then living and working in Snohomish County for most of his adult life.
Blue Dot Industries prides itself on referrals via word of mouth from happy customers who tell them that in the end, “we have built what they have imagined.” Read more about what they do here; see some of their work here. Call Blue Dot Industries at 206-948-9724, or send them a message by going here.
We thank Blue Dot Industries for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
1:32 PM: Police and Fire are at the scene of a crash at California/Alaska involving a motorcycle, and we’re hearing that northbound traffic on California is blocked. Apparently no major injuries, as the medic unit has been cancelled and a private ambulance summoned.
1:39 PM: Added a texted photo (thank you); our crew is en route. Looks from that photo and this one on Twitter that the motorcycle is down on California just north of Alaska.
1:51 PM: Emergency vehicles have cleared the scene and everything’s open again.
Yet another car prowl at Lincoln Park. Today’s report is from Luna:
We had our car broken into between 8:15 and 8:50 this morning in the Lincoln Park south lot. There was nothing in the car for them to take. Everyone that stopped while we were cleaning up and getting someone to come and pick up our kiddo was so nice and surprised, it makes me glad to live in West Seattle even if this happens at our local park! We also chatted with a couple who were broken into in the same spot last week, so be careful, everyone! There really was almost nothing visible in our car and they didn’t take the kids Patagonia jacket that was on the floor, so it seems like they were definitely looking for a purse/wallet. Just wanted as many people as possible to be aware!
This is the third reader report we’ve received this week about Lincoln Park car prowls; we tried checking the police-reports map again for the latest tally, but it’s not working so well at the moment. We also have a message out to local police leadership to ask how they’re tackling this problem, and will add whatever we hear back.
After someone asked whether the huge “12th Flag” would go up at West Seattle Corporate Center before tomorrow’s Seahawks-Panthers playoff game, we went over to Delridge/Andover and found it flying! Well, “flying” is a bit of an exaggeration – not much breeze this foggy morning – but we stood around, camera ready, until it caught a hint of movement.
BACKSTORY: The 1,500-square-foot, Tacoma-made flag first went up last year, days before the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win.
P.S. If you’re downtown, you are invited to cheer as King County Executive (and native West Seattleite) Dow Constantine raises the 12th Man flag at the King County Administration Building at 12:12 pm today – 500 4th Avenue.
12:24 PM UPDATE: The aforementioned downtown flag-raising was accomplished with the help of the executive’s baby daughter Sabrina – here’s the video just tweeted via @kcexec:
(If you are having trouble getting that to play – you can view it on its host site, here.)
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