West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
Meet the woman who is likely the newest centenarian in West Seattle, Maxine Bundy. Today is the second day of her 101st year, and granddaughter Brietta Tatro shares the photo and announcement:
On August 30th, longtime West Seattle resident Maxine Bundy reached the venerable age of 100 years old. Born in Missouri in a small town on the Mississippi River, she moved to Seattle with her family, eventually settling in West Seattle as a young bride in the 1940’s; she has called our fair peninsula home ever since.
To celebrate this important milestone, family and friends gathered for a surprise birthday party this past Saturday afternoon and feted her with smiles, hugs, cakes, and song. The following morning, Maxine was honored at West Side Presbyterian Church by fellow church members. As a centenarian, Maxine is extraordinarily energetic and independent, enjoying lunch out with friends, shopping excursions to Southcenter, and trips with family members. Life continues to be a grand adventure for this remarkable woman. Happy Birthday, Maxine!
13 days until the first time you can enjoy the West Seattle Car Show at its new home at South Seattle College – Sunday, September 13th, 10 am-3 pm. Still time to register your vehicle if you want to show off, and there’s still time to sign up as a sponsor of the show, we’re reminded by the organizers at Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks (which, like SSC, are both WSB sponsors). They wanted to shout out to the sponsors who are signed up already – Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, Tom’s Automotive, WebCami, George Butterfield of Berkshire Hathaway Northwest HomeServices Real Estate, West Seattle Health Club, and us here at WSB. To inquire about sponsoring the show, e-mail wscarshow@gmail.com – to register your vehicle or motorcycle, go here for the application. And if you just want to make plans to be there, mark your calendar … no tickets needed, because the West Seattle Car Show is free to see. You’ll get to explore some of SSC’s signature points of pride, too, including its strong>Northwest Wine Academy and Automotive Technology program, which is the show’s beneficiary. See you there!
August is going out as blustery as if fall were here already … and September starts with community groups resuming their regular meeting schedules. As the leaves fall, consider turning over your own new leaf and getting involved, if you’re not already. Tomorrow night is the first Tuesday of the month, which means the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council invites you to the Southwest Library‘s upstairs meeting room, 6:15-7:45 pm. Here’s the agenda:
6:15-6:20: Introductions & Community News
6:20-6:45: Committee & Neighborhood Council Updates
6:45-7:15: Welcome Back and Updates: SPD Officers Jon Flores and Kevin McDaniel will be with us to give us an update on the micro-policing plans. And how things looked this summer
7:15-7:40: Topics for Next Meetings: Brainstorm ideas for meetings and things to touch base on with the City.
7:40-7:45: Wrap Up: Break down the room; library locks up promptly at 8 pm.
Even if you just want to sit in the corner and observe/listen, all are welcome. The library’s on the southeast corner of 35th SW and SW Henderson.
4:57 PM: SFD and SPD are en route to the 1200 block of Alki for a report of paddlers in trouble. More to come.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
5:06 PM: Scanner indicates 4 people picked up, kayaks being retrieved. An SFD boat is bringing them to shore for evaluation.
(Photo by Lynn Hall)
Some of the emergency vehicles are being dismissed but stay away from 1200 block Alki for a while.
(WSB photo)
5:15 PM: We confirmed, four people, two kayaks. SFD medic units are standing by at Don Armeni just in case.
5:26 PM: Talked to the medics. No one needs to be taken to the hospital.
(Photo by Steven Director)
The kayaks were being brought to shore.
Two followups on three incidents we’ve covered in West Seattle Crime Watch over the past week and a half:
CHARGES IN PUGET RIDGE DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE ASSAULTS: The 17-year-old arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend twice in five days is now charged in both incidents. Both led to high-visibility searches, on August 21st and on the 25th; the first one involved the Guardian One helicopter, and both involved K-9s. He is charged with first-degree domestic-violence assault and felony domestic-violence harassment (court documents say the two had lived together off and on at the victim’s home for the past six months). The harassment charge carries the special circumstance of firearm involvement – he was alleged to have been armed and threatening to shoot and kill her. In the first assault, he hit her and pushed her down, court documents say; the second time, he choked her until she lost consciousness. While police couldn’t find him the first day, they found and arrested him after the August 25th attack. Police found three guns he was believed to have discarded, one checking as having been stolen in Renton in 2009. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says he remains in custody, in juvenile detention; since he’s being prosecuted as a juvenile so far, we are not identifying him by name.
DETAILS OF NORTH ADMIRAL CONFRONTATION: The police report finally became available today in last Thursday’s North Admiral incident involving a man who got away from armed youths he believed were trying to carjack him. For one, the report puts the address as the 1600 block of Palm Avenue, not California as we were told Friday and therefore reported in our first brief story. Ahead, the full narrative, minus names:
(Photo by David Hutchinson: Seattle Parks’ James Lohman installing a banner)
Along the heart of Alki Beach, near the Bathhouse, “Share the Shore” banners are up as a reminder – it’s peak pupping season and if you see a baby seal, keep clear and notify Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network, 206-905-SEAL – Here’s how Robin Lindsey explains it:
The banners are hung annually during September and October to remind people that there is a good chance they might come across a harbor seal pup resting on shore. These Fall months are usually Seal Sitters MMSN’s busiest time and is considered the height of pupping season in West Seattle and surrounding areas. Some pups are now being weaned all across South and Central Puget Sound and have begun to strike out on their own, leaving the safety of the rookeries. They often end up on urban beaches.
So, it is a good time to remind folks that if you see a pup on the beach: please stay far back, keep people and dogs away, and call your local stranding network. Allowing a pup to rest undisturbed could truly save his/her life. Because seal pups are so vulnerable as they struggle to survive, it is especially important that dog owners respect the law this time of year. Dogs are NOT allowed on Parks beaches leashed or unleashed at any time. It is a fact that each year in Puget Sound, dogs injure and/or kill harbor seal pups.
For marine mammals on West Seattle shoreline, please call Seal Sitters MMSN @ 206-905-SEAL (7325); in downtown Seattle and areas north, please call Sno-King MMSN @ 206-695-2277; for beaches south of Brace Point to Redondo Beach, please call MaST Center Stranding Team @ 206-724-2687.
When in doubt for what network to call, you can always give the Seal Sitters’ hotline a call and we will refer you to the right network. Additionally, here is a link to a map with contact numbers for NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Networks in the Puget Sound region. There are links to maps for the entire states of Washington and Oregon here, as well.
We ask that boaters and kayakers be alert to the marine life around them. Seals of all ages will use often use offshore platforms, docks, buoys and marinas to rest. Harassment can have dire consequences. If you are out on the water and see yellow tape and cones on the beach, it means an animal is resting there. Please give seals (and sea lions) a wide berth so as not to disrupt their rest. Please respect NOAA guidelines and stay 100 yards away whenever possible.
It has been oddly quiet as far as marine mammal response the past two months, but we anticipate a big spike in responses soon. Seal Sitters is so thankful for the West Seattle community’s support in protecting wildlife!
Seal Sitters have been caring for local shores and sea life for eight years now – here’s our first story on them from September 2007, baby-seal video (via mega-zoom) and all.
On this last day of August, it’s the first day of school for some local students – and others already have returned, or are about to, as listed below with each school’s name linking to its calendar:
(Thanks to Charlie for the photo: Holy Rosary students Audrey and Grace, back to school today)
HOLY ROSARY SCHOOL – First day today, and it’s a half-day, so students are already out for the day.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL – First day is tomorrow.
HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL – First day Wednesday.
HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL – First day Wednesday.
SEATTLE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL – In session since last Wednesday.
For local public schools, Seattle‘s first day of classes is Wednesday, September 9th, while Highline Public Schools (White Center and vicinity to our south) start this Thursday. Most local non-faith-based independent schools follow the public-school calendar.
(July ‘cover page’ image from project file on city website. Architect: Schemata Workshop)
After passing the first stage of Design Review on the second try earlier this summer, the project team for the proposed CVS drugstore at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW has applied for a land-use permit – and with the announcement in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin, that opens the next phase of the public-comment process.
As reported previously, the store is proposed as a one-story building on the site that now holds West Seattle Produce and Suite Arrangements; it would have 50 offstreet parking spaces (including 32 on an adjacent parcel) and a drive-through window. Here’s the official notice; here’s how to comment. At least one more Design Review meeting will be required, but there’s no date set yet, and this phase of the comment process is open to more than its design – you can offer opinions on environmental issues such as traffic and noise. The comment deadline is September 13th.
The store has been in the works for two years now; we first found an early version of the proposal in city files in July 2013.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:21 AM: Good morning! West Seattle’s last sizable power outage ended overnight, and that means the Highland Park Way hill should be open again; if you discover otherwise, please let us know – text/call 206-293-6302 (when you can do so safely & legally, if you’re not a passenger – thanks!).
ROAD-WORK ALERT: If not delayed by weather, today is the scheduled start of microsurfacing work in Arbor Heights – here’s the map and flyer.
10:18 AM UPDATE: SDOT says it has indeed delayed the microsurfacing work: “Due to the rain over the weekend and the rain in the forecast this week, we are postponing the work until dry weather returns to the forecast. The treatment is not effective when applied in wet conditions. Streets scheduled for Monday or Tuesday work will not be closed at this time. We will microsurface the scheduled roads within the next 2 weeks. Two to three days before the work begins, we will notify residents, businesses and organizations along streets to be closed and post ‘No Parking’ signs.”
Story, photos, and video by Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Listening to Alaska Natives is the first thing on President Obama‘s schedule when he arrives in Alaska later today.
Listening to a Puget Sound Native leader is something his Interior Secretary probably didn’t expect to find herself doing in her West Seattle driveway while preparing to head north herself.
As first reported here on Saturday, Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen went to Secretary Sally Jewell‘s North Admiral neighborhood with local activists hoping to deliver a letter seeking a meeting about Jewell’s department denying the tribe federal recognition two months ago. “Ruined my Fourth of July,” Hansen said about that July 2nd decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
After gathering a few houses away on Saturday morning, Hansen and the group trouped up the front steps of where they thought Jewell lived (when not in DC).
A man answering the door told them that wasn’t the house they were looking for but wouldn’t say which house that would be. So they then semi-rallied on the sidewalk, reading statements, until one group member spotted Jewell – loading items into a car trunk in a driveway across the street. Over went everyone – including Hansen, surprised. Here’s what happened in the ensuing four and a half minutes:
Though the short encounter was more cheery than confrontational, as you heard, Jewell made no commitment – referring repeatedly to the “complexity” of the recognition issue and mentioning other tribes’ “difference of opinion.” Hansen, asked afterward what she thought, pronounced what she heard to have been “political runaround.” Days after the July denial of recognition, she told media at the tribe’s West Seattle longhouse that she felt especially let down by Jewell.
At the time, there also were suggestions of a grass-roots citizen lobbying effort. That might hold promise, if what happened on Jewell’s street a few minutes later is any indication. A neighbor emerged from a garage a few houses east – one still decorated for what apparently had been a luau the night before – to ask what was going on. Within a blink, Hansen and the activists were gathered outside the garage, making their case to the neighbor and several others sitting inside.
Petitions were circulated. Right after that, we took our leave – the windstorm was kicking up (as you can hear in our video) and people were starting to text about tree trouble. Hansen had said her council would be meeting this week, and that a conversation was due to happen with the lawyer representing them in an ongoing court attempt to force the recognition issue. Seattle’s U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott has tried to push recognition via legislation, but it has idled.
Hansen also hopes to hear from Jewell, who told her she would be back in D.C. after Labor Day, and said she at least would convey the message to Kevin Washburn, her assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, during the Alaska trip, which she noted would be followed by a visit to Eastern Washington tribes. Meantime, since the Saturday encounter, Jewell has made headlines with a gesture to Alaska Natives, announcing that Mount McKinley would be renamed Denali, the name by which it is known to them. The matter of recognizing a tribe – in, as she noted on Saturday, the face of opposition by others – is not as simple.
Chair Hansen reiterated that the Duwamish are determined. Even before the short chat with Jewell, she mused that maybe if the feds remain reluctant, she could take her case to Pope Francis, who is headed to the U.S. in three weeks.
AHEAD: THE LETTER – Read on to see the letter that the activists brought to Jewell’s neighborhood on behalf of Hansen and the Duwamish people:
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