day : 23/08/2016 13 results

West Seattle Crime Watch: Attempted child luring; prowlers on video; package thief takes wedding items

| Crime | West Seattle news

Three reports tonight:

CHILD-LURING ATTEMPT: From Stephen:

Man in black SUV on Findlay/33rd tried to lure our kids into his car at about 8 pm tonight. Asian, 50-something, freckles, glasses. He had a clipboard with multiple addresses recorded on it. Seattle PD initiated a suspicious person report and searched the neighborhood for any sign of him.

We have a followup question out for any further details on what the man said/did.

PROWLERS: Jeff sent three videos, with the explanation you see under this first clip:

We had what looks like a “team” of prowlers on our alley last night. It is the alley between 38th and 39 Ave SW, 6500 block. The attached videos show both a man and a women probing our driveway and carport. We had no loss but others in the area may not have been so lucky. The images of the woman are pretty good but the man seems to have been a little shy when the lights came on, maybe because his pants were about to fall off!

See the other clips here and here.

STOLEN WEDDING ITEMS: From S & B, package-theft heartbreak:

A UPS package left at our door @~4:15pm was stolen from our porch before we arrived home ~4:50pm. It contained customized wedding items for our wedding on the 1st. Completely useless items for anyone else.

Ribbon, signs, napkins are all little things we can replace or do without. (All with our names and wedding date on them). However, there was also a customized memorial glass cylinder (vase?) for my partner’s mother who passed last Xmas. Her name is inscribed on the cylinder, and it will be missed.

A neighbor found the box–open and empty–only a few napkins left nearby. He brought the box back to us.

We’d just like the items back before our wedding on Sept. 1st. They can put them in the mailbox. No questions asked.

This happened near 32nd SW and SW Barton.

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About the emergency response on Myers Way

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Thanks for the text about the police/fire response along Myers Way south of 1st (map). We just talked to police at the scene – right after SFD left – and here’s what they told us: They got a report of shots fired somewhere on the slope east of the road. They have searched – and Guardian One was out here searching too – but cannot find a victim; they’ve been talking to a person who claims to have seen someone with a gunshot wound, but he is described as seeming to be under the influence of something.

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Pagliacci 20th anniversary Wednesday, with freebies

August 23, 2016 7:08 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Pagliacci Pizza sends word that it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary in The Junction tomorrow. And you get the gifts: Free slices (limit two per person) 11 am-4 pm, tomorrow only, at the West Seattle location (4449 California SW) only. If you’ll be off-peninsula during those hours, take note that Pagliacci says its other locations (except for the UW campus) will have a deal in honor of the WS milestone – buy one slice, get one free. Again, all this is tomorrow (Wednesday, August 24th) only.

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ELECTION FOLLOWUP: New High Point dropbox a hit

August 23, 2016 5:55 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

(August 1st photo of High Point dropbox, courtesy Ken @ High Point Library)

While overall voter turnout wasn’t so great, there were some positive numbers associated with this month’s primary election – including the number of voters using the new permanent ballot dropbox by the High Point Library. A King County Council committee got a briefing from KC Elections today on how the new dropboxes – this was one of 19 in the county – did; here’s the resulting news release:

…Nearly 36 percent of voters (more than 160,000 voters) cast their primary ballots via drop boxes. This is a substantial increase compared to the 2015 general election, in which 26 percent of ballots were returned via drop boxes. This year, over 100,000 primary ballots were returned to drop boxes on Election Day, 20,000 more than any previous Election Day total….

…In December 2015, the King County Council passed a motion asking King County Elections to develop a plan to improve access and convenience of ballot drop-off locations throughout King County. A primary aim of the motion was to lower barriers to voting. The Elections Division’s plan, which was approved by the Council on May 2nd, 2016, adds 33 additional ballot drop-off locations in King County for a total of 43 locations.

For the August primary election, a total of 29 ballot drop box locations were ready for voters. The remaining locations will be open in time for this fall’s general election. Once the plan is completed later this year, more than 90 percent of King County residents will live within three miles of a ballot drop box.

Among the most used new locations are the Lake City Library, University of Washington – Schmitz Hall, and High Point Library drop boxes, all located in areas that scored highest in the evaluation for key equity demographic characteristics. Scores were based on an Equity and Social Justice metric that considered a combination of diversity, household income, and English proficiency. Strong return rates at these locations signal progress for King County’s ongoing efforts to lower barriers to voting and strengthen the ability for all citizens to exercise the right to vote.

We followed up to get the West Seattle-specific numbers: 5,548 ballots were turned in via the High Point drop box for this year’s primary. King County Elections spokesperson Nancy Standifer tells WSB more than 4,300 of them were dropped off on Election Day (August 2nd). While it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison given that ballot vans only were sent over for a few days and limited hours each election, we asked for those numbers: August of 2015, 1,725 ballots at the West Seattle Stadium dropoff van; August of 2016 (two days) at the HP Library dropbox, 4,912 ballots.

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SUNDAY: First-ever Central American festival coming to Westcrest Park

August 23, 2016 4:13 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Highland Park | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

A first-of-its-kind festival is happening in West Seattle this Sunday! Here’s the announcement we received for Festival Centroamericano, coming to Westcrest Park:

The first festival in Seattle that is dedicated to learning and sharing the cultural expressions from Central America, the Festival Centroamericano, will bring together members of the various Seattle Neighborhoods that are from Central America or have family from the seven Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama).

Embracing our Central American heritage and culture to a community that is not well exposed to it can also offer a great opportunity to learn something new especially with the different ethnic groups (Indigenous, African, Mestizo, Latino) that are involved in the festival. The organization will unite the different ethnic groups from each of the Central American countries to exchange cultures and learn from one another.

The Festival Centroamericano will be a family-oriented and free-for-the-public event, therefore, everyone is welcome to experience a Central American community at Westcrest Park, 9000 8th Ave SW on August 28 from 11AM to 7PM. The festival will have live performances and vendors providing food, art, information, other great services, and more!

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FROM CITY HALL: Mayor hires ‘director of homelessness’

August 23, 2016 3:40 pm

| 38 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Just in from City Hall – while it’s not West Seattle-specific, it deals with a citywide challenge, so we thought you might be interested. Mayor Murray has just filled the announced-last-April cabinet-level position of “director of homelessness.” The news release:

Mayor Ed Murray today announced that George Scarola will serve as the City’s first ever cabinet-level director of homelessness. Scarola will be responsible for leading the City’s homelessness efforts across departments, providing oversight and evaluation of outcomes, strategic guidance, and leading community engagement.

“Homelessness is a national epidemic, leaving cities like Seattle stepping in to fill the large gaps left behind by state and federal agencies,” said Mayor Murray, “We have made unprecedented investments in homelessness prevention and services. Because of the growing scope of work around homelessness, Seattle needs a proven manager to ensure we are achieving our desired outcomes. I have known George for many years, working alongside him in Seattle and Olympia, and know him as a unifying leader that excels at creating successful results through community engagement.”

Scarola is an experienced public affairs and community relations manager having led advocacy organizations in Seattle and Olympia for over 25 years.

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UPDATE: Police arrest car-prowl suspect after helicopter-assisted search

August 23, 2016 1:57 pm

| 25 COMMENTS

| Crime | Helicopter | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

1:57 PM: Sorry it took a while to find out why the helicopter was over Morgan Junction, but Guardian One itself just solved the mystery, tweeting – after leaving the area – that it was helping SPD with a car-prowl suspect who has since been “detained in Lincoln Park.” We’re now seeing police along Fauntleroy toward the park’s north end and hope to ask them for a little more information. (P.S. Thanks for all the texts and calls.)

2:10 PM: Just talked with police by the park. They tell us it was reported as a car prowl in the 7000 block of California SW and they tracked the suspect to the park. (Our photo was taken as they placed him in a police vehicle.) Guardian One wasn’t called out specifically for this – but happened to be in the area and asked if they’d like some help. Police are still looking for possible car-prowl loot the alleged prowler might have ditched in the area.

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See inside new Arbor Heights Elementary, with ‘sea to sky’ theme

August 23, 2016 1:01 pm

| 19 COMMENTS

| Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Story by Tracy Record
Photos by Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Two weeks from today, Seattle Public Schools will dedicate two new elementaries in West Seattle. We’ve already taken you inside the new Genesee Hill Elementary; now, our first look inside the new Arbor Heights Elementary.

This is the school that principal Christy Collins and families fought hard for. As recently as four years ago, Arbor Heights wasn’t scheduled for a rebuild until 2019 – despite the old school being in such bad shape, it even flooded without rain one day in 2013.

By then, the campaign had worked, and the BEX IV levy called for Arbor Heights’ rebuild to be complete this year, and now it is. This morning, district officials, school board members, and architects from Bassetti led a VIP tour of the new school. It incorporates the eSTEM philosophy – environment plus science, technology, math, engineering – that was announced by Collins in 2013. As we were shown during the tour, the school’s theme is “sea to sky,” and it’s incorporated inside and out. Like the new Genesee Hill, it’s awash in natural light, with windows and skylights throughout. Here’s a look around inside the cafeteria and stage area:

A video posted by West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) on Aug 23, 2016 at 11:21am PDT

It’s also built to a capacity of about 660 students, though unlike its crosstown counterpart, it will not be near capacity at opening – more than 400 students are due here. Read More

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More new West Seattle businesses: MOD Pizza, BECU, 2 others signed for The Whittaker

August 23, 2016 10:16 am

| 44 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

The biggest development under construction in West Seattle, The Whittaker, has just announced four more commercial tenants.

The two-building mixed-use development at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW has of course long since announced its first and biggest tenant, Whole Foods Market (opening in about a year, fall 2017, we’ve reconfirmed).

According to Weingarten Realty, joining Whole Foods will be:

MOD PIZZA – This chain was founded in Seattle in 2008 and has since expanded nationally; its story is here, and its menu is here. Its nearest Seattle location right now is downtown.

BECU – The financial institution formally known as Boeing Employees Credit Union has long been rumored to be opening a full-service West Seattle branch, and this is finally it. (Its membership eligibility is explained here.)

CITYMD URGENT CARE – This health-care organization started back East and is expanding.

T-MOBILE – The cell-phone provider.

All will front on Fauntleroy Way; you can see the locations on the site-plan graphic atop this story. These tenants, too, are expected to open in fall of next year. Meantime, for restaurant fans, it’s been pointed out to us that Whole Foods’ presence in the building – with a lot of takeout food – means the rest of the development is restricted to 6,000 square feet of additional food uses. MOD Pizza will take 2,500 square feet, so The Whittaker has one more restaurant space, between 2,300 and 3,448 square feet, with the location shown in the graphic.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, The Whittaker will have 276 offstreet parking spaces for its businesses, separate from the spaces for its 389 apartments.

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4 options for your West Seattle Tuesday

August 23, 2016 9:09 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Osprey at Lowman Beach – photographed by Trileigh Tucker)

Highlights for today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar.

LUNCH AT THE LIBRARY: 12:30 pm-1:30 pm at Delridge Library, free lunch for kids/teens, as this summer’s effort continues to make sure no youth go hungry before school starts up again. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

FREE TAI CHI ON THE BEACH: The new expansion class for the popular Saturday Tai Chi at Alki. Free. All levels welcome. 6 pm. (60th SW/Alki SW)

DREAMERS AT EASY STREET: 7 pm, live in-store performance at Easy Street Records, celebrating the first album release for Dreamers. Free, all ages. (California SW/SW Alaska)

BABY KETTEN KARAOKE: 9 pm, 21+, free karaoke at The Skylark – not your average singalong! (3803 Delridge Way SW)

GOT SOMETHING FOR THE CALENDAR? We list West Seattle, White Center, South Park events for free; send the info in plain text in the body of your e-mail (*not* as an attachment, please), at least a week in advance, to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

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BIZNOTE: New bar at the beach

August 23, 2016 9:04 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants | WS beverages

The photo is courtesy of Pegasus Pizza (2770 Alki SW), which just added another component to its recent remodel – a bar. Last night was opening night, says Pegasus spokesperson Sean McVeigh, who adds that Pegasus’s owners “had a designer from California come up to design and build the bar and it turned out great!” Previous remodeling work included moving the restaurant entrance to its east end; what was its west end is now a property-management office.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates and reminders; Endolyne Triangle work

August 23, 2016 6:43 am

| Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates and reminders; Endolyne Triangle work

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:43 AM: Happy Tuesday morning! Another look at this week’s reminders, first:

SURFACE SPOKANE ST. PROJECT: Here’s this week’s update, including a bike-trail detour, for this project east of the low bridge.

IN THE STADIUM ZONE Mariners are home vs. the Yankees again tonight at 7:10 pm, Wednesday at 12:40 pm, and the Seahawks host Dallas at 7 pm Thursday.

ALKI BEACH 5K ON SUNDAY: Sunday at 9 am, it’s this year’s Alki Beach 5K, to help Northwest Hope and Healing, is next Sunday (August 28th), 9 am, closing Alki SW and part of Harbor SW for a few hours that morning. (Want to run or walk in it? Sign up here.)

Back to today … no incidents in West Seattle or on the major outbound routes (NB 99, NB 5) so far.

7:47 AM: A couple weeks later than previously announced, the Fauntleroy/Endolyne Triangle work is getting under way – we just went by and noticed ROAD CLOSED signage for the block of Brace Point Drive that will become one way, eastbound:

Details are in our most-recent report, from early August.

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UTILITY WORK: City Light to start project in Hillcrest area

August 23, 2016 6:28 am

| Comments Off on UTILITY WORK: City Light to start project in Hillcrest area

| Utilities | West Seattle news

If you live in the Hillcrest area, you should be getting – if you haven’t already – a notice from Seattle City Light about a project starting in early September, “to increase electrical reliability … by rebuilding parts of the underground electrical system.” Here’s where they’ll be working:

The city is circulating this flyer, and says its key points are:

· Three sections of the neighborhood, each one block or slightly longer, will have conduit and vaults installed. The work is the next phase in the refurbishment of the system.

· Trenching in the public right-of-way is planned from the first week of September through February 2017. Planned power outages may be required during this phase of the project. If required, customers will be notified in advance.

· Affected landscaping, sod, driveway aprons, and sidewalks will be restored to City standards.

Actual cable replacement will happen next year, according to the project webpage (see it here); no contact information there yet but SCL says customers with questions can take them to David Mannery, Electrical Service Representative, david.mannery@seattle.gov or 206-386-4245.

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