West Seattle, Washington
27 Thursday
(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)
7:11 AM: Good morning – no incidents in/from West Seattle so far this morning.
STADIUM-ZONE ALERT TONIGHT: 7 pm at CenturyLink Field, soccer playoffs – Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids.
(WSB photos. From left, Harold, Cathy, Giles)
A little more than three weeks after we first published the announcement of a West Seattle donation drive for the Standing Rock Sioux-led pipeline-route-protest camp, the results are about to head eastbound to North Dakota. We checked in as they loaded up around sunset. Here’s the final official update:
Thanks to all of West Seattle who helped fill a large cargo van of warm clothing and winter gear for the Water Protectors encamped on the very cold prairie in North Dakota. We are leaving to deliver all of this stuff and will report back as we can from the road. Great to be part of this community.
Cathy and Giles
The van they’re driving belongs to Harold, who they met via the response to the reports we published. Here’s the final inventory (PDF) of what they’ve received and are taking.
They’ve also received some donations to cover expenses via this GoFundMe page (which also includes a more-comprehensive explanation of what they’re doing).
Five reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
STOLEN TRAILER: Reported tonight by Darren:
My trailer was stolen today, 11/21/16, between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm from in front of the house on Belvidere. Someone cut the lock off and drove away with it.
Continental enclosed grey/silver tandem axel trailer. License 5363YR.
(added) If you have any info, Darren is at 425-407-2052; the SPD incident number is 2016-421687.
STOLEN BICYCLE: From Antonio:
A Red Sterling FcCarlight bicycle was stolen from 11/18 through 11/21 at 4550 38th Ave SW, across the street from Lien Animal Clinic:
The owner’s contact information is: 206-578-0274, call or text
CAR PROWL: Kerry got hit: “Just wanted to report that our car was prowled last night (110th and 36th in Arbor Heights), and the thieves had an attempted spending spree up Roxbury soon after.” Kerry’s “kicking myself” for “the car having been unlocked AND having left my wallet and two jackets in said unlocked car,” and was planning to check with Roxbury Safeway and 76, since the attempted spending/withdrawals were all time-stamped.
FOUND ITEMS: Sunny spotted these items, apparently dumped (so, likely stolen) tonight on Pigeon Point:
Not optimal light for a photo but here’s what Sunny noted: “Two bikes (or what’s left of them), a printer, some sort of box, and possibly a pressure washer or paint sprayer?” Recognize any of it? Let us know.
POSSIBLE GUNSHOTS: We received two messages around 8:20 about possible gunshots heard in High Point. We have not heard of any verification of gunfire – no victim, at least. As always, please call 911 if you think you hear shots, even if you didn’t see anything, even if you’re not sure where the noise might be coming from you … those calls help police at least figure out where to look.
More youth-sports success: The photo is courtesy of Kasey, who reports that “the Hiawatha Mad Dogz placed third at the 10/11-year-old 2016 Seattle Parks and Recreation Volleyball Jamboree this past Saturday.” That’s out of 15 teams, says Coach Al, who reports “the girls played their hearts out.” In addition, he says, “We finished our season in 1st place in the South Division with a 6-1 record. … What’s even more exciting than what this team of mostly first-time-playing-10-year-olds was able to accomplish this season is the fact that most of them will be back next season to pick-up where we left off, I’m VERY optimistic and excided of what the girls will be able to accomplish then!”
(Photo provided by White Center Food Bank)
The season of holiday helping is well under way. Ian Smithgall of the White Center Food Bank sends this success story about a South Delridge business’s recent fundraising event:
Every year, Thomas Salle – of Meat the Live Butcher – hosts a “Meat the Live Butcher Dinner and Auction”, raising money in support of the White Center Food Bank and its mission to #KeepWhiteCenterFed.
Thomas Salle is a third-generation meat cutter and now holds the title that his father, Bernie, started in the sixties as the Live Butcher™. This year, Tom (the Live Butcher) and the White Center community rallied to support the White Center Food Bank, helping to raise well over $16,000 in support of our food assistance programs! This will help to feed over 953 families living in White Center with food insecurity this holiday season. White Center owes Tom a debt of gratitude for his service and dedication to ending hunger – on behalf of our clients at the White Center Food Bank, we thank you and the White Center community for your unwavering support.
Happy holidays from the White Center Food Bank!
Missed it? You can still help the WCFB – which also serves south West Seattle – by going here.
With two and a half weeks’ advance notice, SDOT announced today that the “low bridge” (formally, the Spokane Street Swing Bridge) will not be able to open for marine traffic on the morning of Thursday, December 8th – approximately 8 am-noon – because of maintenance. SDOT says, “The date and time was picked to minimize the impact to marine traffic. Vehicle traffic across the bridge will not be impacted by this work.”
With Thanksgiving days away, we’ve added even more to the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide:
ONGOING WAYS TO GIVE: Many businesses and organizations have ongoing donation drives all season long. The photo above is just in from the West Seattle YMCA (4515 36th SW; WSB sponsor), where the Giving Tree is now up:
The giving spirit is alive this season, even in a construction zone! Each year, the West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA hosts a Giving Tree, which is full of gift requests from youth that attend Y programs. The Giving Tree is an opportunity for these young people to receive a special gift from their Y family. This year, over 1,000 tags will decorate the tree.
Y Members and our West Seattle community can make a difference!
1. Select a tag off the tree, which provides a single gift request.
2. Purchase the gift.
3. Return new, unwrapped gift AND tag to either Y location by SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10. (Why so early? Most of our youth attend Seattle Public Schools. Gifts must be sorted and distributed before school is out for winter break.)
You’ll find a tree at each of the Y’s two locations (Fauntleroy is at 9140 California SW). And find many more ways to give in the Holiday Guide.
INFO FOR THANKSGIVING DAY: As we do every year, we’re compiling a list of restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving Day and/or night. It’s not finished just yet (takes a lot of phone calling, since most of this info isn’t online) but what we have so far is here. That’s also linked in the Holiday Guide, where you will find the list of grocery-store hours (who’s open/when, and who’s closed) for the holiday, as well as an in-progress list of coffee shops. Also for Thanksgiving – community dinners and workouts! The Thanksgiving section is right at the top, at westseattleblog.com/holidayguide.
P.S. We’re updating the guide at least once a day, and your holiday event/info (now through New Year’s) is still more than welcome – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
We’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor, Itto’s Tapas, which is celebrating its first anniversary today (November 21, 2016), and loving all the support and kindness radiating from their West Seattle neighbors! Here’s what they want you to know about what they do:
Itto’s set out to combine the heart and soul of Moroccan culture with the vibrant community of West Seattle in an attempt to create a unique, intimate experience. Named after the owner’s mother, with the intention of honoring her spirit, their focus has been on warm sincere service backed by quality food and drink. With a strong belief that cooking and hosting should involve love and generosity, the Itto’s family aims to create authentic connections with their community. Almost all of their staff not only lives in beautiful West Seattle but works to contribute something else to the spirit of its surroundings through music, visual art, culinary madness, videography, healing arts, and youth counseling. What they’ve come to notice is that West Seattle has brought the same warmth in return. Their guests have allowed them to celebrate symphony night, birthdays, new jobs, anniversaries, babies’ first outings, and everyday shenanigans. Itto’s could not be more excited to participate!
Like many new businesses, Itto’s didn’t want to bite off more than they could chew and started with everyday hours of 4-midnight. Recently, however, they began opening for BRUNCH on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Instead of sticking to the Tapas theme, they’ve decided to bring entree-size plates full of the foods they grew up eating. A large portion of their staff was raised all around the world. To honor that, Itto’s focuses on what they like to call Brunch From Around the World. Morocco, Holland, Turkey, England and Mexico are some of the chosen cultures they are currently highlighting as well as a fun-filled Flagon full of Mimosa Sangria to help wash it down.
They are so thrilled to call West Seattle home and are looking forward to many more years with all of their new friends. As they told The Stranger, “We may be small, but we are large with heart.” That’s one of the citywide publications from which Itto’s has had some kind words:
“Few things in life are as pleasurable as walking through a door into a space that takes control of your senses and changes the channel in your head.”- Susan Kelleher, The Seattle Times
“…the convivial atmosphere—particularly in the 21-and-over bar area, which always seems to be filled with neighborhood regulars—makes it clear that, even in their earnestness, Agour and his staff don’t take themselves too seriously…Itto’s is marked most by a generosity of spirit, one that Agour’s mother would surely be proud of.” – Angela Garbes, The Stranger
Itto’s Tapas is at 4160 California Ave SW. See the Itto’s menus here; hours are here.
We thank Itto’s Tapas for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
It’s all about auto theft in this edition of West Seattle Crime Watch:
TWO AUTO THEFTS IN ONE HIGH POINT BLOCK: Jackson‘s silver 4-door 2015 Ford Escape, WA license AVT6214, was stolen in the 6500 block of High Point Drive SW early today, and, Jackson adds, “The officer told us that another car was reported stolen across the street as well.”
We don’t have any information on the other car, since we haven’t heard from its owner, but Tweets by Beat (see all the Southwest Precinct auto-tweets in a box on the WSB Crime Watch page) does indeed list two separate auto-theft cases reported this morning in that same block.
STOLEN IN MORGAN JUNCTION: We also got a note today from Bill, whose 1999 silver Subaru Impreza Outback, four-door with ski rack, WA license AMR3000, was stolen early last Tuesday in Morgan Junction. If you see this car, Jackson’s car, or any other stolen car, SPD says, call 911!
Three notes from today’s edition of the city’s twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin:
12-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING @ 3026 SW CHARLESTOWN: In July of last year, we mentioned an early-stage proposal for a “10-12-unit apartment building” on this parcel uphill from Avalon [map]. Now, there’s an official proposal for an apartment building, and this notice in today’s LUIB invites you to comment on it. (While the notice calls it a 3-story, 12-unit building, there’s conflicting information elsewhere on the city website, including documents that say it’s four stories – which is allowed in the site zoning – with 11 units over six parking spaces.)
12-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING @ 3017 SW CHARLESTOWN: Almost directly across the street is a similar proposal – 12 apartments on three floors over 6 parking spaces; same development-team contact, with a separate notice announcing a comment period through December 4th. A single-family house is planned for demolition on this site.
PARKING LOT NEXT TO PECOS PIT: Last month, we reported on a meeting focused on the old substation building east of Pecos Pit BBQ (WSB sponsor). One of the issues that came up was whether the city had gone through the appropriate permit process for Pecos Pit to use the substation property (3243 SW Genesee) as overflow parking. According to online records, it had not, but a notice in today’s LUIB indicates an attempt to fix that – an application for a temporary land-use permit to allow parking there “for up to six months.” You can comment on this application through December 4th.
(Photo by David Hutchinson – taken from Don Armeni Boat Ramp)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide:
THANKSGIVING DEADLINES: If you’re ordering a pie, a dinner, or something else for Thanksgiving, doublecheck your deadline … for some, the cutoff has already passed, but here are three where the deadline is today:
Metropolitan Market: Deadline today; make a reservation online
A la Mode Pies: Noon today is the pre-ordering deadline
Caffe Ladro: Deadline today; order online
AFTERNOON BOOK GROUP: 2 pm at Southwest Library. “The Madonnas of Leningrad” by Debra Dean is this month’s title – more info here. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ASSIGNMENT PLAN CHANGES: 6:30 pm at Chief Sealth International High School‘s library, it’s the first of five citywide meetings about proposed changes to the district’s Assignment Plan, as previewed here. (2600 SW Thistle)
WEST SEATTLE QUILTERS: 7 pm at the Senior Center/Sisson Building, it’s the semi-monthly meeting of this quilting group – all quilters welcome! (4217 SW Oregon)
QUIZ NIGHT: 7:30 pm at The Skylark, free, all ages. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
DADS’ BOOK CLUB: Third weekly meeting for this new group, 8:30 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club. Here’s how to get involved. (12th SW/SW Holden)
SOMETHING FOR OUR CALENDAR AND/OR HOLIDAY GUIDE? Please e-mail the info ASAP – plain text in your e-mail, not a Word doc or PDF or poster – to editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!
(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)
7:02 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far this morning.
PRE-HOLIDAY NOTES: While the official school holidays are Thursday and Friday, schedules vary at some schools starting today, because of parent-teacher conferences, so be extra-careful in school zones. … Here’s this week’s plan for the surface Spokane St. paving/repair project east of the low bridge.
8:29 AM: If you are inbound – stalled vehicle on WB bridge just past Admiral.
From left in the photo (taken at Talarico’s) are Ryan, Ty, Phuong, and Vitaly. Ty sent the photo and report about a gathering of what he described as the “Junction Logistics Network“:
9 times out of 10, if you live/work in the Junction you’ve received a package from one of these guys.
In preparation of the holiday season, we wanted to get together and “break bread.” We discussed multiple topics ranging from safety and wellness to traffic concerns and our ever-expanding community we serve. Whether you work for USPS, UPS, FEDEX, or OnTrac, at the end of the day we all have one goal in mind. And that is to do our job to the best of our ability and to also come home to our loved ones safely.
“I see these guys all week long and we might have ten seconds to say Hi, Bye, look out for this..complain about the weather, etc. I knew they were great and exceptional workers, but I wanted to know ‘why’ they were.”- Ty
P.S. One arrived early, one was on time. One a little late and one got lost “en route.”
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Go Hawks!
The photo and report are from Brian Callanan:
The High Point Pink Panthers took third place in the All-City volleyball tournament for 12- to 13-year-old girls!
We had girls from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Denny, Pathfinder, and Madison schools represented. Go, Panthers! Coached by Brian Callanan, Holly Branch. and Chris Edwards.
Photos by Leda Costa for West Seattle Blog
That silhouette placed today at 35th and Othello is in memory of Oswald Clement, hit and killed by a driver while crossing there nine years ago, just days before what would have been his 86th birthday. The silhouette is one of 24 that were to be placed around West Seattle for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, to raise awareness of deaths on and by the roads, as silent reminders of 24 deaths in this area since 2006.
Before fanning out this morning, volunteers, led by Bob Anderton, gathered at Ampersand Café on Alki to mark the silhouettes and get the list of locations:
They wrote on each one with the victim’s age and date of death, plus a short description of the circumstances, adding a sticker explaining World Day of Remembrance:
Then they headed out – below, Kathy Dunn from West Seattle Bike Connections:
She and WSBC’s Don Brubeck put up silhouettes along Alki Avenue, where four people were killed in incidents in 2006:
The Alki deaths happened in 2006, which, according to the spreadsheet that was created for today’s efforts, was a particularly deadly year in West Seattle – 10 people killed. One of the Alki Avenue silhouettes was for 21-year-old Travis Gracey, hit and killed while skateboarding; the motorcyclist who hit him also died.
You’ll also see a silhouette at California/Oregon in The Junction, where 62-year-old motorcycle rider Larry Keller died in a collision with a truck in 2013 – Dunn installed it with Michael Sedgewick:
Silhouettes have been placed in other areas around the city, too; as listed on the Seattle Greenways website, the Alki gathering was one of 11 today in Seattle. From the World Remembrance Day flyer:
Over the past 10 years, 200+ people have died by walking, biking, or driving on Seattle’s streets. These 4-foot tall silhouettes are installed at the places people have died to remember these people and highlight the need for traffic safety everywhere.
In a startling moment of irony … while WSB photojournalist Leda Costa was photographing the silhouette shown at the top of this story, at 35th and Othello, two cars got into a fender-bender nearby. No injuries reported.
Four felony charges have been filed against the burglary suspect arrested at Hiawatha Playfield one week ago tonight after a wide-ranging search in Admiral. 29-year-old Garrett Cimmery of Federal Way is charged with one count of residential burglary and three counts of firearms theft; the charging documents say three shotguns were among the items he is accused of stealing from the victims’ home near Me-Kwa-Mooks Park. They also shine additional light into what prosecutors say happened:
As reported previously, a neighbor saw an unfamiliar car and man in the victims’ driveway; when the victims returned home shortly thereafter and discovered the burglary, the information was provided to police. The neighbor saw the same car show up in the neighborhood less than two hours after the break-in; police were called again, an officer spotted the car headed eastbound in Admiral, and it was abandoned in the 
Admiral Starbucks/Baskin-Robbins parking lot, where the driver bolted. Cimmery was caught after an extensive search and short foot chase.
New information in the charging documents says a friend of the suspect lives in a trailer at the Burien location where Cimmery told police he stashed the stolen guns. Cimmery is reported to have told police he didn’t intend to commit a burglary but was driving around in West Seattle and happened to see the victims leaving their house. He said he then parked the rented car in the driveway and knocked on two doors at the house; when no one answered, he pushed on a large glass window that opened, and that’s how he got inside. He told police the guns he stole were in a closet next to a gun safe, so, he said, he left the house with the guns and jewelry to get bolt cutters to bring back for breaking into the safe. The neighbor said he drove off after that second approach when he saw her come out of her house with a phone, intending to get a photo or video.
He has been out of jail since late last Monday night, after posting bond on $10,000 bail. Along with charges, prosecutors asked for a higher bail, but what’s on file suggests that was not granted. He will be expected back in court before month’s end to answer the charges.
And the ribbon is cut! CM @Lisa_Herbold here as is ex-CM @CityhallTom pic.twitter.com/YycH27eIYu
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) November 20, 2016
West Seattle artist Troy Pillow (below) has the most visible art in The Junction – the kinetic sculpture “Transpose,” dedicated today (above) – and more on the way, as he has designed art you’ll see all around the peninsula’s biggest project, The Whittaker.
Some of the backstory for the new installation stretches to a project across the street from that one.
As explained at today’s ceremony (11 minutes, recorded in its entirety in the video above), the roots of this public art are in the project at 39th/Fauntleroy/Alaska, first known as Fauntleroy Place, then as “The Hole” when it stalled for years after excavation, and then as Spruce, after it was sold at a foreclosure auction and completed. $25,000 was part of the “public benefit” package that development owed because of its alley vacation, approved by the City Council.
The importance of “public benefits” was discussed briefly during the ceremony by the West Seattleite who was on the council then, Tom Rasmussen. Also present but not speaking, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. Because of the years it took for this to become reality, there were other sets of then-and-now – former West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose and her successor Lora Swift, former Junction Neighborhood Organization leader Erica Karlovits and her successor René Commons. While Karlovits didn’t join the ribbon-cutting lineup, her son Connor helped:
The sculpture, for its part, spun gently in the breeze; it was created from concepts originally shown to the public at an open house in The Junction last February. The day’s intermittent rain kept itself on pause for the 20-minute event, in which Seattle Parks reps also participated – Robert Stowers, a former West Seattleite, and Pam Kliment. You can see the sculpture, standing against what had been considered West Seattle’s biggest blank wall, in the park on the northwest corner of 42nd and Alaska.
Thanks to Doug for the photo – a submarine has just passed West Seattle, heading back to Naval Base Kitsap. It’s been 13 days since one was seen headed the other way; no way to tell if it’s the same one, since the sub itself doesn’t show up on trackers like MarineTraffic.com (though at least one escort tug is showing there).
ORIGINAL REPORT, SUNDAY NIGHT: Thanks to Dina Lydia Johnson for the photo from today’s meeting of the relatively new South Delridge Neighborhood Group. We mentioned the SDNG twice this week – once in this announcement of the meeting, and again as the group was officially added to the voting membership of the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council. Like most neighborhood groups, they’re on hiatus in December, so your next chance to check them out will be the third Sunday in January – 10 am January 15th, at 3.14 Bakery (9602 16th SW) – southdelridge@gmail.com is where to e-mail if you’re looking for info sooner.
MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: SDNG co-chair Marianne McCord says the group decided on a change for January – they will join with Highland Park Action Committee to co-host a meeting on HPAC’s regular meeting date, time, and place, which is 7 pm, fourth Wednesday, at Highland Park Improvement Club, and after that, “SDCG will resume meeting on the 3rd Sundays at 3.14 Bakery at 10 am in February” – 9602 16th SW.
Out of the WSB inbox, from Kelly, a stolen-car report:
1997 silver Honda Accord SE stolen from Gatewood neighborhood somewhere between 9 pm (Saturday) and 10 am today
License plate AVD5132
Police notified and report taken.
If you see it, call 911.
And they circled back again… pic.twitter.com/GO4MHtYBmn
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) November 20, 2016
We just noticed two military jets circling over Puget Sound west of here – multiple circles – and confirmed via the game preview on the Seahawks website, “Immediately following the anthem, U.S. Navy VAQ-132 Squadron will conduct a flyover with two EA Growlers (F-18s).” According to Boeing’s website, they’re a variant of the planes flown by the Blue Angels. VAQ-132 is based at Whidbey Island.
Got a text a little while ago about a dead seal on the Beach Drive shore, toward the south end of Constellation Park. First thing to do if you see a marine mammal on the shore, dead or alive, is call Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network – 206-905-SEAL – which the texter had done, but due to cell-signal breakup, wasn’t sure the message had gotten through. We e-mailed Seal Sitters, which confirms the seal’s carcass has been washing up and then back out again for a few days in the Constellation Park/Cormorant Cove Park area. Since it’s on public property, it’s also been reported to Seattle Parks – too large and heavy for a simple removal.
Here’s a way to get involved with the future of West Seattle’s own institution of higher learning. The announcement is from the city:
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is seeking interested community members from surrounding neighborhoods to participate on the South Seattle College Standing Advisory Committee. This committee provides feedback on projects planned and under development by the college to ensure it complies with its Master Plan. The Master Plan describes zoning rules, long-range planning of the property, and transportation planning.
Sound interesting? Full details are in this announcement. Background on the committee’s work last decade is here.
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