West Seattle, Washington
18 Thursday
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
10:46 PM: A big Seattle Fire “heavy rescue” response is going to a crash scene reported near Hamilton Viewpoint Park [map]. Two people are trapped, according to scanner discussion, which also indicates that California is blocked from the park to Harbor Avenue SW.
10:53 PM: SFD crews are working to get the two people out of the vehicle. The vehicle is reported to have hit a pole, bringing down power lines, and taking out a hydrant.
11:03 PM: First patient has been extricated. Adding a photo from WSB’s Christopher Boffoli at the scene.
He reports, “It is right at the curve. Literally at the intersection of California ave SW and California lane SW. One silver SUV on its side.”
11:20 PM: Christopher reports that the second person has been extricated. Both will be taken to Harborview; one has serious injuries, the other a little less serious.
11:27 PM: Christopher’s now being told at the scene that both people in the vehicle are female and neither has life-threatening injuries.
11:50 PM: Police say California Lane – the hillside road between Hamilton Viewpoint and Harbor Ave – will be closed until City Light can take care of the damaged pole.
8:49 AM: According to the SPD Twitter log, the incident is classified as a DUI investigation.
(@ WSBWCN meeting: Left, Officer Todd Wiebke; right, Capt. Pierre Davis)
From tonight’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting – first one since before the holidays:
FIGHTING CRIME: Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis said the new bicycle officers added to the precinct, mentioned at other recent meetings, will help police patrol proactively. They’ll be patroling outside the purview of 911 response, which means they can be deployed in areas that have been hot spots for problems such as car prowling.
Capt. Davis also said SPD is continuing to work with prosecutors and judges to help get repeat offenders sentenced to more time behind bars.
DEALING WITH HOMELESSNESS: Special guest was SW Precinct Community Police Team Officer Todd Wiebke, who is the CPT point person on homelessness-related matters.
City rules only allow SPD to do so much, Officer Wiebke explained – it’s up to nonprofits to deal with directly helping those in need. Police, ultimately, are there for the security of the public. A few minutes into his talk, someone brought up the campers and vehicles along Myers Way. Wiebke stressed that he and other officers do arrest people who are breaking the law, but it’s not illegal to be homeless, and not all unsheltered people are breaking the law. The people at Camp Second Chance, which is slated by the city to become an authorized camp, are overall “clean and sober” as per their rules, Wiebke said, but that’s not necessarily the case for the people living elsewhere along Myers Way. He, by the way, said CSC has about 30 residents, with a similar number of people living on the slope across the street.
RV residents, he continued, are not all law-breakers either. Some are employed and the RV just happens to be the only place they have to live. Some vehicles, meantime, had been associated with crimes, and they had been investigated, with, in some cases, Wiebke said, property seized. Overall, though, the city has a lot of rules on the books to be followed when police and other agencies deal with campers, and the discussion at the meeting veered into some of those details (here’s some of what’s on the books).
Some attendees also wanted to know how to help the people at Camp Second Chance; Officer Wiebke said water is always needed, but that people could visit and talk with camp leaders to see specifically how to help.
The West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meets on fourth Tuesdays most months, 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct. Watch the WSBWCN website for updates between meetings.
Even if you don’t have kid(s) in local schools – they need your help, now more than ever. We heard today from the Gatewood Elementary Auction Committee, with this community request, well in advance of the need:
The Auction Committee is seeking dedicated parents, grandparents, siblings, high-school students, and/or West Seattle neighbors to VOLUNTEER their time on Friday, March 17. The majority of openings happen during the actual auction, but we have spots throughout the day. The auction is the most important fundraiser at Gatewood – help ensure we can continue to have ARTS EDUCATION for our kids & more. Email mereruth@gmail.com if interested in volunteering.
A 33-year-old man is in jail tonight, under investigation for the December holdup of a man using an ATM in South Delridge. Southwest Precinct police arrested the suspect yesterday afternoon near 15th and Barton. He was supposed to have a bail hearing today but he refused to go, so the judge had a probable-cause hearing without his presence and ordered another bail hearing tomorrow. The robbery happened the afternoon of December 18th at the Wells Fargo ATM at 15th and Roxbury. A man making a cash deposit was robbed at gunpoint; probable-cause documents say that after the robber left with the cash, the victim tried to use his phone to call for help, but the robber returned to grab the phone away. An investigation led to the identification of a suspect; police have been looking for him, spotted him, and arrested him. The same man was arrested in West Seattle in November after police spotted a package theft in process; it doesn’t appear he was charged in that case.
Thanks for the tip – what was already a bumpy-to-say-the-least stretch of road in the 4100 block of Beach Drive SW [map] is worse this afternoon, with what first responders were calling a “sinkhole,” possibly involving a water break. It’s on the southbound side of the street, and police are directing traffic around it. The Seattle Public Utilities crew that is there now checking it out says a larger crew is on the way to dig into it, so you’ll want to avoid this area for at least a few hours.
Thanks to the texter who called our attention to the passing of West Seattle resident Bob Walsh, reported last night by The Seattle Times.
You might remember Mr. Walsh, 76, best for the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle. (The Municipal Archives photo above shows Mr. Walsh at right, with Rev. Jesse Jackson at the podium.) It was the second staging of the international competition hatched by cable-TV entrepreneur Ted Turner as an alternative to the Olympic Games, which had gone through multiple superpower boycotts by then. Before then, as noted in The Times’ report (and this 1990 profile), Mr. Walsh was known for basketball involvement including three years as an executive with the Sonics and promotion of big NCAA, WNBA, and NBA playoff events, and he since has had extensive nonprofit involvement. Sportspress Northwest has an extensive obituary, reporting that Mr. Walsh became ill while visiting the former Soviet republic of Georgia and died in a hospital in Turkey.
New in the city Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) files: An early-stage proposal for a 14-unit development at 5242 California SW [map]. The building had been anchored by John L. Scott Real Estate headquarters until they moved north to the former JF Henry building at 4445 California SW. According to the SDCI docket item, the proposal is for six live-work units, four townhouses, and four single-family houses. The site-plan outline on file shows four of the live-works fronting California, with two behind them, the four townhouses behind that, and the four houses behind that. Eight offstreet-parking spaces are shown along the alley. The site is 15,000 square feet, according to county records, zoned NC2-30. The formal application hasn’t been filed yet, so the official comment period isn’t open yet, but according to the docket, this will go through Design Review (dates TBA).
SIDE NOTE: In case you’re wondering … since the current proposal for Mandatory Housing Affordability under the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda would upzone all commercial/multifamily property, whether in an urban village or not, the draft map shows this site with a potential future height limit of 40′ instead of 30′.
Ever seen a squirrel resting? Trileigh Tucker has not one resting squirrel but two in the photo above – after they “remodeled” the box she says was intended for an owl.
As for the lineup of potential activities for people today/tonight:
‘TRY IT TUESDAY’: Until 10 pm, nonmembers are invited to visit the newly expanded West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle and give it a try. (36th SW/SW Snoqualmie)
BABY STORY TIME X 2: 10:30 am at the Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson) and at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW).
‘GUIDE TO WASHINGTON WINES’ CLASS: Starts tonight, 6-9 pm at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – full details here, including how to check if there’s still room. (6000 16th SW)
WEST SEATTLE BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS NETWORK: 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct, come network with your West Seattle neighbors to talk about safety and crime-prevention issues. Tentatively scheduled guest, Community Police Team Officer Todd Wiebke, the precinct’s point person on homelessness-related matters. (2300 SW Webster)
WHITE CENTER SHELTER MEETING: 6:30 pm at Seola Gardens, it’s the second community meeting about a new shelter planned at 8th/108th in White Center. Since the contentious first meeting in September, as we’ve been reporting on partner site White Center Now, the plan has changed dramatically; a 24/7 family shelter is planned now. (11215 5th SW)
MADS JACOBSEN: 8 pm at Parliament Tavern. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
BABY KETTEN KARAOKE: 9 pm at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Before we get to highlights for today/tonight … Every year in the first quarter, we get questions about whether there’ll be a free shredding event any time soon. This year, thanks to West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Swift, we have VERY early word, so you can get it in your calendar and make your tax-season (or whatever your motivation) plans: Saturday, April 29th, 10 am-1 pm. Full details here. (And if anyone else is having one sooner, please let us know! editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Top left, looking west over the high bridge; top right, looking west over the Spokane Street Viaduct; below, looking SW toward the low bridge. Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:39 AM: Below freezing this morning, so be alert for icy spots.
No incidents in/from West Seattle right now. One transit note: If you ride Route 120 to or from Burien, Metro has sent an alert that it’s rerouted off Ambaum between SW 136 and SW 143 in Burien “due to a blockage.”
9 AM: That situation has cleared and Route 120’s back to normal, Metro says.
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