West Seattle Crime Watch: Old locks beat burglar(s)
From the WSB inbox, an alert from Kevin south of The Junction tonight:
Sometime between 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm today someone tried to break into our house on the 5200 block of 42nd SW [map]. Two neighbors were outside most of the afternoon but didn’t see anything. The people did not get in, apparently outsmarted by 90-year-old locks.
That involved a deadbolt key the burglar(s) couldn’t grasp even after breaking glass, and another door where they “only managed to bend the handle awkwardly.”
From the ‘in case you wondered files’: Saturday photo shoot on Duwamish Head
We spotted that row of “No Parking” signs, from Luna Park eastward to Duwamish Head, this afternoon, and took a closer look. Any time you see a series of signs like that, some of them are supposed to have explanatory information attached, and once we found those infosheets, we discovered that 10 am-7 pm on Saturday, the spaces are saved for a “production shoot” by Sean Cope Pictures. We sent and left messages, and received a reply saying it will be “just plate shots for a car/lifestyle photo shoot. Very small shoot. Nobody famous, just a local shoot.” So if you see the crew on Saturday, now you know.
‘For Sale’ sign now up at first West Seattle ex-substation to go on the market
(WSB photo, looking northwest toward the now-for-sale ex-substation site)
Two and a half years after Seattle City Light started the process of figuring out what to do with a set of surplus ex-substations, mostly in West Seattle, “for sale” signs have just gone up at the first one to be offered for sale on the open market. It’s the Andover Substation at 2100 SW Andover on Pigeon Point; Pete Spalding reported the sign sighting this afternoon; we subsequently went over for a photo. We also checked with the city Department of Finance and Administrative Services, after discovering that the listing is so new, the city webpage for it isn’t set up yet, though linked from here. FAS spokesperson Julie Moore tells us they’re working on the webpage and in the meantime, the broker working for the city has a listing here. It says the minimum bid, due by the end of April, will be $400,000 for the 8,002-square-foot parcel; the city had listed the site’s appraised value as $350,000. It’s zoned LR-1 (lowrise residential development).
BACKSTORY: Of the surplus substations discussed since summer 2013 (all shown here), this is the only one in West Seattle currently listed for sale. As per terms of the ordinance approved by the City Council in December, the city has delayed the sale of the Dakota (Genesee Hill) and Dumar (north Highland Park) sites for two years to give community groups a chance to muster plans; it’s also delayed the Fauntleroy site’s listing for a year, while the Fauntleroy Community Association surveys the community about possible fundraising to purchase it. As for the other West Seattle sites, the city is working on a county purchase of the White Center site (actually on 8th SW in Highland Park) for stormwater retention (update – maybe not – we’ve found a listing for that one too, separate story ahead), and with the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association on a plan for it to buy the Delridge site for educational use.
West Seattle businesses: J.F. Henry to close, as owners change from retailers to landlords
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One of the West Seattle Junction building owners interviewed for the just-released “What Makes the West Seattle Junction Special?” historical survey is about to start a new chapter of his own history.
Tom Henry, owner of houseware store J.F. Henry Cooking and Dining at 4445 California SW, confirms, “We have decided to retire and close our business.”
Henry (at right, in 2014 WSB photo) and wife Patty plan to retain ownership of the building; they have quietly had it listed for lease for a few months and expect to announce its new tenant soon. “We’re going to take off our retail hat and become landlords,” he told WSB today. “We’re too young to do nothing – we’re very busy people – it’s going to be kind of fun. I’ve told people, you don’t know what’s out there if you have to pretty much unlock a door [to open the store] every day.”
He says that while brick-and-mortar retailing has definitely changed with the advent of online, “our business has been fine, and we’ve seen a lot of growth with new people moving in.” It “just felt right for us to be doing something different.”
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UPDATE: 3 schools take precautions because of possible gun sighting near one
1:23 PM: Seattle Public Schools confirms that West Seattle Elementary is in lockdown and Gatewood and Sanislo Elementaries are in “shelter in place” because of the same incident: A WSES student reported possibly seeing someone drive by holding a gun. The gun was not reported to be pointed at anyone, and was not fired, but just to be on the safe side, the schools have taken precautions. SPS says police are checking around the area.
1:30 PM: SPS spokesperson Luke Duecy says all three schools are back to normal. Nothing found by SPS as far as we have heard.
7:05 PM: Thanks to Katia for uploading (in her comment below) a photo of the letter sent home by WSES principal Vicki Sacco. The text:
Today at approximately 1:00 p.m. three students reported an issue of concern while they were on the school playground. They observed a car drive past the school and the driver showed them that he had a gun. The adults in charge immediately brought all students inside the building and the school went into a lockdown.
Within minutes the police department and school security arrived. They gathered information and thoroughly checked the school building and campus to ensure that everyone was safe. As an adde d measure the police and district security will be a presence at dismissal time this afternoon.
FOLLOWUP: No tickets during school-zone light outage by Gatewood Elementary, says SDOT
That’s the northbound school-zone beacon on Fauntleroy Way by Gatewood Elementary, and it hasn’t been working for the past few days. Several people mentioned it to us (206-293-6302 – text/call any time!) because, while the beacon wasn’t flashing, the school-zone speed cam associated with it WAS photographing passing cars.
This morning, after yet another report, we went over for a photo and also checked with SDOT to be sure that the problem was on their radar (so to speak) and to ask whether drivers would indeed be ticketed. Here’s the reply from spokesperson Norm Mah:
SDOT is aware of the situation and working to resolve the issue. Though the camera is still taking photos, no citations will be issued while the beacons are offline.
Community members are welcome to contact SDOT if there are SZSC [school-zone speed camera] related issues regarding the operation of existing beacons, contact walkandbike@seattle.gov or 206-684-7583.
This is one of three school zones in West Seattle with fixed speed cameras. All three – and other school zones that just have beacons, without cameras – are shown on the map you’ll find on this city webpage.
FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: SDOT says the beacons are working again as of this morning.
ELECTION 2016: Mayor wants housing-levy vote in August
If the City Council goes along with Mayor Murray‘s request, you’ll vote on the renewed/increased Housing Levy in August – until now, there hadn’t been a decision about whether it would be on the primary or general ballot. From the announcement, just out of the WSB inbox:
Building on over 30 years of success, today Mayor Ed Murray delivered his proposal to City Council to replace and expand the Seattle Housing Levy in 2016. His $290 million proposal follows three months of stakeholder and community engagement to discuss the levy and hear what the community’s priorities are for this affordable housing resource.
“Expanding the Housing Levy is the most important thing we will do this year to support affordability in Seattle,” said Mayor Murray. “The levy is a powerful resource to build more affordable homes for low-income families and help people at risk for falling into homelessness. We value an equitable and diverse city and we will renew our commitment to affordable housing.”
The Mayor is recommending the Housing Levy be placed on the August ballot.
The City Council has created a select committee, chaired by Councilmember Tim Burgess, to consider the Mayor’s proposal. A public hearing on the proposal will take place at City Hall on April 4, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. …
Read the rest of this morning’s announcement here.
Two West Seattle meetings with briefings about and discussion of the levy have already been held. We covered both. Here are our reports:
–February 23rd meeting (with video)
–February 3rd Southwest District Council meeting
West Seattle Crime Watch: Yet another stolen car to look for; hit-run clue
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning, starting with another stolen car to watch for:
STOLEN SILVER SUBARU: From Rebecca: “My car was stolen from in front of our house last night. 3700 block of 34th Ave SW near Manning. It was a silver Subaru Outback. We reported it to the police, incident number 16-75829. I don’t know the license plate, it had a car seat inside and a STEM sticker on the back window.” SPD asks that you call 911 if you see this (or any other) stolen car – the thief could still be in the area, and auto thefts aren’t always standalone crimes (they might be used as transportation between burglaries, for example).
HIT AND RUN: If you’ve seen a blue Volvo with a missing passenger side rear-view mirror cover, Laura hopes you’ll report it – here’s why:
I would like to report a hit and run on the west side of the 5400 block of 48th Ave SW (traveling south). In the evening we discovered that our van had been side swiped on Tuesday 3/1. After notifying our neighbors of the incident, two of them mentioned a blue car parked in front of ours around 9:45 am. We later discovered a rear view mirror cover from a blue Volvo in front of our car.
Here’s a photo of the damage done to Laura’s car.
P.S. Set your calendar reminder early – this month’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, including your chance to bring issues and questions to local police face-to-face outside an emergency situation, will be at the precinct (2300 SW Webster) at 7 pm Tuesday, March 15th.
FOLLOWUP: About the brown water in Admiral/Belvidere
9 AM: When we first heard about discolored water in Admiral/Belvidere yesterday morning, we advised people to call Seattle Public Utilities – 206-386-1800 – and received early word back that customers were being told it was just hydrant testing, so we didn’t pursue it further, but should have; more reports came in many hours later, and we pinged SPU’s communications team to find out if it was really something more. This morning we finally have the answer, from SPU spokesperson Ingrid Goodwin: “A hydrant on Belvidere was being used to fill up a vactor truck. This action caused customers to experience discolored water. In this case, it took longer than normal for the discolored water to clear. SPU apologizes to customers for the inconvenience. Testing and use of the hydrants for purposes other than firefighting is required periodically.”
9:24 AM: In response to our followup questions: “Our vactor trucks carry water and they need to fill up from time to time, which is pretty common. This was not a testing situation. Pulling water from this hydrant certainly caused more sediment to be disturbed than normal. Our field crews are aware of the problem and will be working to minimize this type of issue in the future.”
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:14 AM: We start this morning with an incident at Delridge/Orchard. A texter says it’s a collision involving a bicycle rider. We’re on our way to find out.
6:30 AM: The medical call at the intersection has closed, meaning SFD crews are no longer involved.
6:33 AM: Our crew has arrived and the scene’s completely clear – no police, either. If anyone had been seriously hurt, investigators would still be on scene; we’ll call around later this morning to follow up. Meantime:
WEEKEND VIADUCT/HIGHWAY 99 REMINDER: WSDOT plans its twice-yearly inspection of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, starting Saturday 6 am-6 pm and continuing Sunday 6 am-6 pm if needed; separate from the inspection, Highway 99 will be closed both ways north of the Battery Street Tunnel 6 am-noon on Sunday for the Hot Chocolate Run – get the specifics here.
7:52 AM: Commenters are reporting a truck problem on NB 99 “at the top of the S-curves.”
7:54 AM: SDOT now finally has this:
7:58 AM: … and now SDOT says it’s cleared but “residual backup remains.”
8:45 AM: Again this morning, we’re getting reports that the northbound school-zone lights on Fauntleroy by Gatewood Elementary aren’t working, but that the speed cam seems to be. We’ve asked those who mentioned this to be sure to report it to SDOT, but if they did, it hasn’t been fixed yet, so we’re checking with SDOT and should have a separate story later today.
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