West Seattle, Washington

23 Tuesday

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day : 12/10/2015 10 results

3 T’s @ Southwest District Council: Transportation levy, Terminal 5, Timebank
October 12, 2015 11:14 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Southwest District Council | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Along with the City Council races, the “Move Seattle” levy – Seattle Proposition 1 – is the biggest thing on your soon-to-arrive ballot. A mini-forum with reps from both sides headlined this month’s Southwest District Council meeting, along with a Port of Seattle update on the Terminal 5 modernization project, and a briefing on a new project for the West Seattle Timebank.

Toplines on all of the above follow, plus a few extras:

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CONGRATULATIONS! Lifetime Achievement Award for Annie’s Nannies founder Annie Davis
October 12, 2015 10:03 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

(Annie’s Nannies founder Annie Davis with daughter & partner Suzanne Royer McCone)

Congratulations to Annie Davis, founder of West Seattle-based Annie’s Nannies (WSB sponsor), for a big honor. Here’s the announcement:

The Association of Premier Nanny Agencies, a national non-profit that helps set the bar for safe professional service in the nanny industry, has bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award to Seattle’s Annie Davis, founder of Annie’s Nannies, Incorporated.

“I started my business in 1984. In the last 31 years, my staff has done a wonderful job helping thousands of our families find a nanny for their children. These women make me so proud and happy,” says Davis. “They offer integrity and compassion in finding a nanny the perfect position and the family the perfect nanny. My staff deserves this award and I will be sharing it with them, as well as a nice bottle of champagne!”

The Northwest’s longest-serving household staffing agency, Annie’s Nannies, Incorporated provides child care/family assistants, elder companions and other personal employees. ANI is a 2009 Mayor’s Small Business Award winner and the first Seattle small business to pay a $15 minimum wage.

Annie’s Nannies moved its headquarters from Ballard to West Seattle almost exactly a year ago.

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ELECTION 2015: Ballots & 3 City Council debates/forums this week
October 12, 2015 8:01 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Big week as the November 3rd election approaches.

BALLOTS MAILED THIS WEEK: By week’s end, you should have your ballot – since King County says they’re going out Wednesday. (The sample ballot on the county website is what yours is going to look like, if you’re in West Seattle.)

THREE CHANCES TO SEE, HEAR, QUESTION COUNCIL CANDIDATES: Unless you are absolutely certain without a hint of a doubt who you are voting for in the City Council races – West Seattle/South Park District 1, plus citywide (at-large) Positions 8 and 9, you might consider going to at least one of this week’s three local forums/debates:

–First and biggest, tomorrow night (Tuesday) brings all six of those candidates (who last shared a table in West Seattle at the Fauntleroy forum five nights ago) to Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way) for the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition co-presented event, focusing on business and transportation related questions. The at-large candidates are up first – Jon Grant and Tim Burgess for Position 8, Bill Bradburd and Lorena González for Position 9 – with District 1’s Lisa Herbold and Shannon Braddock for the finale. Mingling at 6:15 pm; debating starts at 6:45 pm.

–Wednesday night, Braddock and Herbold will be at centerstage in a forum/debate during the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), with guest moderators (your editor here is among them) asking questions on a variety of topics.

-Thursday night, Herbold and Braddock meet again, as we emcee the Friends of the Seattle Public Library-presented District 1 debate/forum at 6:30 pm at High Point Library, part of a simultaneous series of forums in the council districts citywide. Audience questions too – see you there!

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CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: What happened between Gatewood burglary report and arrival
October 12, 2015 5:10 pm
|      28 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Gatewood | West Seattle news

As promised, we’ve followed up today on Sunday morning’s burglary in the 8200 block of California SW, with a nearby resident seeing it happen and calling it in, but police not arriving until after the burglar was gone.

The 911 call was made at 11 am, as we reported on Sunday – the witness has record of that on a cell phone screen. The first officer to arrive at the house was shortly after quarter past – we happened to see it firsthand, because we are based a few blocks south and happened to be heading out on an errand at the time.

Here’s what SPD told us happened in the meantime.

*The dispatch went out at 11:03. An officer was headed to the house by 11:09.

*Before arrival, police got word the burglar(s) had left (11:14, the witness said), and so instead of proceeding immediately to the house, they tried to find the vehicle, using the description and plate (Washington AWB5824 – here’s a photo from the witness):

As the witness told us, they spotted a car they believed to be the vehicle, and they tried to pull it over – but the driver didn’t stop, and proceeded “in an unsafe manner,” as SPD put it, so officers were told to terminate the pursuit, which is SPD policy if it’s believed to be a threat to public safety. From the SPD pursuit policy, which you can read in full here:

…3. Officers Will Not Pursue Without Justification

The circumstances justifying the decision to pursue an eluding vehicle must be articulable at the time the officer initiates the pursuit.

Officers will not pursue solely for any one of the following:

– Traffic violations / Civil Infractions
– Misdemeanors
– Gross misdemeanors
– Property crimes
– The act of eluding alone

4. Officers Will Cease Pursuit When the Risk of the Pursuit Outweighs the Danger to the Public if the Suspect is not Captured

Following up on one other point from our original story – the SPD spokesperson with whom we spoke hadn’t seen anything about the mention of “shift change” and did not think that was related. The case is open, SPD verifies, and detectives have “good information” to follow up on.

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YOU CAN HELP! Sign up for Salmon Watch on Fauntleroy Creek
October 12, 2015 2:37 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(2012 WSB photo)

How does this sound for a volunteer gig: Sit and watch the water! That’s exactly what you’re invited to do:

If you’d like to experience coho spawners up close, consider joining Salmon Watch 2015 on Fauntleroy Creek. We’ll begin Monday, Oct. 19, with veteran watchers, then fold in newcomers if/when we start seeing fish. To learn why West Seattleites eagerly get wet and cold to document fish, contact Judy Pickens at judy_pickens@msn.com.

Hard to tell how exciting (or not) this’ll be this year – last year saw 19 spawners, two years earlier, a record 274. Salmon watch starts right after a community event this Sunday – the annual gathering to drum, sing, and dance to call the coho home. To be part of that (all ages welcome!), be at the creek overlook (across the street and up the embankment from the ferry dock) at 5 pm Sunday (October 18th).

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WEST SEATTLE BIZNOTE: Sound Bar in the works for ex-Feedback space in Morgan Junction
October 12, 2015 12:37 pm
|      33 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Two months after Feedback Lounge closed in Morgan Junction, we know what’s next. And yes, it’s local. Get ready to say hello to Sound Bar. Its prospective proprietor is already a Morgan Junction entrepreneur – Dan Austin, whose restaurant Peel and Press less than a block south is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Full details on Sound Bar are yet to come, but Austin tells WSB that the space at 6451 California SW “will continue to be an awesome neighborhood cocktail bar and live music/entertainment venue.” He’ll continue to operate Peel and Press, too (if you haven’t been lately, it added lunch this summer).

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FIXING SCHOOL FUNDING: West Seattle-wide invitation for Wednesday conversation
October 12, 2015 11:46 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

In the midst of the current school-funding crisis – with schools here and around the city facing the loss of teachers, and voices (including last night’s $70,000 donor) calling for a look at the big picture – here’s your chance for the latter. Just out of the WSB inbox:

Fairmount Park Elementary PTA cordially invites members of the West Seattle Schools Community to join us Wednesday for an overview of the current education funding situation and a candid conversation about how our schools can come together to effect change.

Our Paramount Duty: Getting to the Heart of School Funding in WA
Wednesday, October 14th, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Fairmount Park Elementary School Auditorium
3800 SW Findlay

Agenda

*Welcome from FPE PTA Leaders
*Show Us The Money: McCleary & Washington State Budget – Heidi Bennett
*Coming together to create change: How can community members work together to address the ongoing funding shortfall in our state?
*Participate in constructive dialog and candid conversation with longtime education advocates and PTA leaders to formulate action items to which our community can commit to moving forward.

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West Seattle Monday: North Delridge & Pigeon Point councils; evening book groups; more…
October 12, 2015 9:45 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(This fierce-looking little bird is a bushtit, photographed by Mark Wangerin)

Happy Monday! Very busy weekend. If you didn’t check in with the news, we covered a lot … just keep rolling on down the main page. First, our look ahead to the rest of today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP: 1:30 pm at Providence Mount St. Vincent, it’s the twice-monthly meeting of this free “support group for unpaid care partners, family members and friends of individuals with memory loss.” (4831 35th SW)

NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, with an agenda – according to its online announcement – including “the #50 Metro bus, and recaps of recent neighborhood events such as the mayor’s walk.” (4407 Delridge Way SW)

EVENING BOOK GROUPS: 6:45 pm at Southwest and at West Seattle (Admiral) libraries. All welcome. WS (2306 42nd SW) is reading “Dirt Music” by Tim Winton; SW (35th SW & SW Henderson) is reading “The Tenth Muse” by Judith Jones.

PIGEON POINT NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 7 pm in the cafeteria at Pathfinder K-8. (1901 SW Genesee)

JOSH RITTER AT EASY STREET RECORDS: 7 pm, free, all-ages in-store concert – but ESR says CD pre-order is the only way to guarantee entry. (California SW & SW Alaska)

FROM ‘SKIES OVER WEST SEATTLE’: Tonight’s the new moon. Haven’t read the latest SOWS yet? See what’s coming up, starting next weekend!

TIME TRAVEL … by looking into the future via our complete calendar.

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HAPPENING NOW: House demolition for nursery expansion
October 12, 2015 8:40 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Thanks for the texted photos! As previewed here last week, the house on California SW immediately north of West Seattle Nursery (California SW & SW Brandon) is coming down today to make way for the nursery’s expansion. We’re told many parts of the house were salvaged before teardown; there was hope of giving the house away to someone to move a new site, but no taker. The new addition, designed by LD Arch Design and built by Ventana Construction (both West Seattle businesses and WSB sponsors), is expected to be done by spring.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday updates and alerts; SDOT cameras broken
October 12, 2015 6:58 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:58 AM: No incidents so far this morning, in or from West Seattle – but SDOT’s traffic cameras are all out of service, which means, for example, no West Seattle Bridge views – so we’ll rustle up a few more state cameras from around the area to add in the meantime.

7:48 AM: If you’ve traveled on Delridge this morning, you might be wondering about the two police vehicles, lights flashing, parked in the center lane north of the Brandon/Findlay/etc. business district. We’re just back from trying to find out, and also looking into a reported police search on Pigeon Point. The vehicles were unoccupied and we couldn’t find the search, so, no info yet, but look for a Crime Watch followup later. Meanwhile, we CAN report that the 21st SW detour on Pigeon Point is still in effect south of Andover.

8:01 AM: Reminder from Washington State Ferries:

8:06 AM: Ride the Route 50 Metro bus? It’s on the agenda for tonight’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting (6:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW).

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