The WSBeat: Tale of the tossed laptops, and 5 more from SPD files
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of our periodic feature The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …
*Citizens reported finding four old laptop computers hidden in some bushes at Alki Beach Park.
*Around noon on the 15th, someone called 911 to report a “man down” at 29th and Trenton. The man was able to mumble his name to officers, which allowed them to run a records check. He was wanted on a no-bail escape warrant from the Department of Corrections and was booked into King County Jail.
*On the evening of the 12th, while walking her dog in Hiawatha Playfield, a woman saw a large group of teenagers, with one making a small fire in the grass with some papers. She yelled, and they all ran. The Fire Department doused the area with water. The teens might like to know that one of the papers that didn’t burn — which appeared to be a report card — clearly displayed someone’s name.
Three more summaries ahead:
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Congrats to Seattle App Academy’s ‘Hacker Cup’ competitors
Congratulations to the students who competed in this week’s “Hacker Cup” at Seattle App Academy (WSB sponsor)! We stopped by during the competition to check it out. Here’s what they were tasked to do:
Create an original game using the Kodu visual programming language and submit it for review by our panel of judges. Present and demonstrate your game during our competition night and you could win big time! Students compete in one of two divisions according to grade range (Division I for Grades 4-7 and Division II for Grades 8-12).
You can also submit your robotics, microcontrollers, and other gadgets for exhibition. Simply submit an entry form and show off your work to your friends, family, and SAA classmates during our competition night. Attendees will have the opportunity to select their favorite gadget by voting for the audience choice award.
Here’s one of the participants, Diego Escame-Hedger, presenting his game:
At night’s end, trophies were presented – Michael Mage from Seattle App Academy shared this photo of the winners and other participants:
They are:
Lars Moreland – First Place
Zachary Hanson – Second Place
Kian Hufford – Third Place
Gabby Betzer – Audience Choice
Owen Chapman – Robotics Medalist
Carson Comick
Constantine Olson
Diego Escame-Hedger
Gunnar Schmitz
SAA, whose mission is “to inspire tomorrow’s technology creators,” is headquartered in Jefferson Square, where it offers classes, including in weeklong day camps this summer, starting tomorrow.
West Seattle High School athlete in the house? Read this
School’s out but some students are preparing for next school year already – which leads to a reminder from West Seattle High School athletic director Trevor Leopold, who asked us to share it: Summer conditioning is available for all athletes playing next year, including incoming threshold – “report to the WSHS weight room at 9 am tomorrow” (Monday, June 22nd). If you didn’t turn in the packet(s) for the fall-sport player(s) in the family by this past Friday, your next chance starts Wednesday, August 12th, with the deadline Friday, August 14th; Leopold says the school “will NOT be accepting participation fees at this time. However, there will be a possibility of a small equipment fee in the fall.” Sport-specific information ahead:
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Explorer West students share idea for creating low-cost housing
(From left, teacher Tim, students Jackson, Grant, Henry, Riley)
As we noted in an earlier story, Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) 8th graders are tasked with working in groups on major projects to research, plan, and present big ideas to “change the world.” Rather than just let their ideas and proposals stay within the confines of the campus, most if not all of the groups found ways to share them with the community. In the case of one group, its members wrote a story about their project and invited us to publish it:
Four Explorer West Middle School students – Riley Walden, Jackson Cecil, Henry Burton, and Grant Gerberding – started a project to reduce homelessness in King County and Seattle.
The project assigned by History/Social Studies teacher Tim Owens was to research, plan, do, and analyze the data, then present it to panelists. They decided to research on housing for homeless people.
One of the group members, Riley Walden, pitched his idea of using retrofitted shipping containers as temporary or even permanent homes. They decided to specifically work on this idea, and with more research, they found that Seattle was a perfect place to house the containers.
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West Seattle whale-watching: Transient orcas seen off Alki
Just got a text that up to six transient killer whales are visible from Alki right now, and heading “north into Elliott Bay.” (Transients are the non-resident orcas whose prey includes other marine mammals; residents are the members of the three Puget Sound-based J, K, and L pods, who eat fish.) Please let us know if you see them – we’ll be looking too, but don’t always have the best of luck!
West Seattle Sunday: 7 possibilities for the rest of your weekend
(Saturday sunset, with moon & more, by James Bratsanos; find tonight’s sunset/moonrise/etc., here)
Happy Father’s Day! A few possibilities from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FARMERS’ MARKET IN THE STREET, WEEK TWO: As previewed last night, 10 am-2 pm, it’s the second week of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market in its new location – California SW between Alaska and Oregon – and dads who check in at the market info booth will get a Father’s Day gift, a $2 Market Buck to use while shopping.
GREYHOUND MEET-AND-GREET: 11 am-1 pm at Mud Bay in The Admiral District – details here. (2611 California SW)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Noon-4 pm, visit the home of West Seattle’s history. (61st/Stevens)
COLMAN POOL: Noon-7 pm, second day of this summer’s seven-day-a-week schedule at West Seattle’s only waterfront outdoor public pool. (Walk in from either Lincoln Park entrance)
FATHER’S DAY BARBECUE AND CARNIVAL: Noon-1:30 pm at Admiral Congregational Church, all welcome – details in our calendar listing. (California/Hill)
ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE TOURS: The US Coast Guard Auxiliary says its volunteers are back today and ready to welcome dads (and everybody else interested in a free tour of the lighthouse). First tour 1:30 pm, last tour 3:40 pm. (3201 Alki SW)
CLUB SHOSTAKOVICH: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, wrap up your weekend with a classical-music treat – details in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)
THERE’S MORE, AS USUAL … just click over to the full calendar to see.
Before summer’s arrival today, Solstice Park sunset watch with Alice Enevoldsen
Unlike last year, the sun skunked this year’s hello-summer sunset viewing at Solstice Park:
It sneaked behind those clouds around 8:45 pm Saturday, about 15 minutes before it would have been in view slipping behind the Olympic Mountains. But sun visibility challenges don’t daunt Alice Enevoldsen, West Seattle-residing NASA Solar System Ambassador and astronomy writer:
As she’s done 25 times now at solstices and equinoxes, Alice hosted the sunset-viewing event to mark the changing of the seasons and explain the astronomy facts of those particular dates of the year. With her in our photo above is the young assistant she chose from the audience to help those in attendance understand the movements of the earth and sun. When visible – the setting sun lines up, at the sunset closest to the solstice, with a certain point at which the park has a granite marker – but they weren’t back yet (backstory here) – the city did place explanatory signs on sticks.
The signs say the markers will be back next month. So you’ll see them for the fall equinox. Might even see the sun, which, though out of sight tonight, left some color in its wake:
Watch for Alice’s work at alicesastroinfo.com and here on WSB in her periodic Skies Over West Seattle updates – next month, she said, she’s hoping to organize a viewing event for the Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft (launched nine and a half years ago).
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