day : 01/06/2017 11 results

In West Seattle Crime Watch, a call working right now, plus two followups:

GUNFIRE REPORTS: Police are responding right now to reports of gunfire heard near 17th and Henderson, and further east. If you heard it too, be sure to call 911, since that helps them trace the location.

Meantime, two followups:

CAR-PROWL SUSPECT OUT OF JAIL: The 37-year-old man arrested in Fauntlee Hills early yesterday after watchful neighbors called 911 got out of jail tonight. We’re not identifying him since he hasn’t been charged, but the King County Jail Register listed this as his sixth time in jail in the past 11 months, and Superior Court records show that he has an extensive criminal history, going back into his teens. We don’t know who the judge was or why s/he set the suspect free, only that the jail register says he got out on “conditional release” at 7:07 tonight. This doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be charged, so we’ll keep watching the case.

AUTO THEFT x 2: Back on Monday night, we covered the police search for two men who ran off after abandoning a stolen Subaru wagon on Beach Drive SW. Neither was found, but we’ve learned that they dumped another stolen vehicle before taking the Subaru. First clue came when J e-mailed us this photo that night, saying it was a stolen pickup, according to the tow truck driver:

That was in the 4000 block of California SW, which is also where police had told us the Subaru was taken. Today we finally got the police report narratives, which confirmed that the two men who took the Subaru had left the Chevy pickup behind at the scene. The report added that police spotted the stolen Subaru headed northbound on Fauntleroy Way past Lincoln Park while the responding officer was still talking with its owner. Then the two ditched it on Beach Drive (shaved keys were found in the ignition and dropped near the vehicle, the report says). As for where the pickup truck was stolen – all we know is that it’s described in the police report as a King County Sheriff’s Office case.

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SATURDAY: Emerald Water Anglers Fly Fest at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park

June 1, 2017 9:23 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

(WSB photo: EWA’s Dave McCoy @ past Fly Fest Guide Cookoff)

Fly-fishing fan? Know one? You’ll want to be at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park this Saturday (June 3rd) as Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) presents the annual free Fly Fest. Here’s the plan:

Schedule of Presentations and Casting Classes:

9:00 AM – Intro to Fly Casting Class
9:45 AM – Summer Steelhead Opportunities and Tactics
10:30 AM – Fly Fishing Puget Sound
11:15 AM – Single Hand Spey Demonstration
12:00 PM – EWA Guide Cookoff and Free Lunch
1:00 PM – Cuba: What US Anglers/Travelers need to know
1:45 PM – Advanced Casting Class: Double Hauling, Distance, etc.
2:30 PM – Fly Fishing Cascade Mountain Creeks

All presentations and classes are open to all, no reservations required!

All Day:

Demo rods from Scott, Winston, Sage, G. Loomis, Echo, Epic, Hardy, Redington, Fenwick, and More!

Check out the latest in gear from Patagonia, Simms, Costa, Yeti, Airflo, Rio, OPST, Outcast, Nautilus, Bauer, Waterworks-Lamson, Abel, Galvan, 3-Tand, Tibor, and More!

Experience the heat of competition as EWA guides battle it out in the Annual EWA Guide Cookoff. Sample guide lunches and make sure to cast your vote for the ever popular people’s choice award.

Free casting instruction all day from EWA Staff and IFFF Certified Instructors

Free seminars from EWA Staff and Industry Reps

Later on Saturday night, at Emerald Water Anglers’ Junction store (4502 SW Oregon) at 7 pm, it’s the Seattle premiere of “SLAM” with Hilary Hutcheson: “the engaging story of three female anglers from different walks of life in pursuit of the same epic challenge.” Free, but tickets are required – go here to get yours.

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UPDATE: ‘Heavy rescue’ callout in North Admiral for collision of Amazon Fresh truck and SUV

June 1, 2017 6:26 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

6:26 PM: Most of the units sent on what was originally a “heavy rescue” callout at 44th and Massachusetts have been canceled, but we’re still on our way to find out about the crash, which is reported to involve a delivery truck.

6:44 PM: The driver has been taken to the hospital by private ambulance, indicating non-life-threatening injuries. We’ve added a photo of the damaged truck.

7:46 PM: Two more photos added, from WSB’s Christopher Boffoli, including one showing the SUV that was the other vehicle involved in the crash. The “heavy rescue” callout was made initially because the driver’s-side damage on the Amazon Fresh truck had led to concern the driver might be trapped.

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LOWMAN BEACH PARK’S FUTURE: Seawall or no seawall? And is there really a choice?

June 1, 2017 4:50 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After what was publicized as an hourlong meeting was well into overtime, a relentless round of questioning finally dug into the heart of the matter:

Is there really any choice about what’s going to be done about Lowman Beach Park‘s failing north seawall?

While Seattle Parks‘ David Graves (top photo) and his consulting engineers showed three possibilities – including one keeping the tennis court and restoring the seawall – Graves acknowledged it was unlikely he would be able to get grant money for a new wall.

And that concerned many of the ~40 people at the meeting, mostly waterfront residents north and south of the park, some of whom think the city’s removal of a south seawall section in the ’90s has adversely affected their property, and are worried the city doesn’t have enough information about effects of another removal.

Here’s how it all unfolded: Read More

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WEST SEATTLE SALMON: Fauntleroy Creek finales for fry releases, smolt monitoring

June 1, 2017 3:15 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(Nancie Hernandez with Salmon in the Schools – Seattle, leads Concord second graders as they explore habitat near Fauntleroy Creek. Photos by Mark Ahlness)

Two seasonal salmon milestones have just been reached at Fauntleroy Creek, Judy Pickens reports:

On Wednesday, Fauntleroy Creek volunteers hosted the last of 700+ students who visited Fauntleroy Park over the past five weeks for salmon releases.

(Concord International students leave Fauntleroy Park after the last of 19 salmon releases at Fauntleroy Creek)

They brought 1,800 coho fry reared since January in area schools through the Salmon in the Schools program.

This week also marked the end of monitoring smolts migrating out to Fauntleroy Cove. Since mid-March, twice-daily checking of upper and lower traps documented that 32 coho smolts had survived their year in the creek, up from 19 in 2016. They’ll put on weight in nearshore habitat, then head to open water before returning to spawn in two years.

The next big seasonal event: Volunteers will watch for returning spawners this fall. Seven showed up last year – after zero in 2015, 19 in 2014, zero in 2013, and a record 274 counted in 2012.

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FOLLOWUP: Sweep begins at unauthorized RV camp in east West Seattle

June 1, 2017 1:57 pm

| 41 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Carrying out a plan first reported here last Thursday, the city is clearing the 2nd Avenue SW site [map] that has been an unauthorized RV encampment for three weeks. “Move along to where?” is the question that dozens of people have been asking at the site they call “Camp Sanctuary“; pull back from the trailer, and you’ll see police vehicles, with the SPD-led Navigation Team there to offer options.

The Southwest Precinct’s point person on homelessness-related issues, Community Police Team Officer Todd Wiebke, was there when we stopped by around noon; unlike the recently cleared area under the West Seattle Bridge, this is in the SW Precinct’s jurisdiction.

Officer Wiebke told us that while those on the site were warned last week that they, their vehicles, and belongings would be removed today, they have until tomorrow to clear out.

The original announcement of the campers’ arrival said they had been swept from parking spots in SODO; the city contended that it wasn’t a sweep, it was parking-rule enforcement. As for this site, a state-owned parcel adjacent to city land where tent camps have been evicted before, the city says WSDOT intends to use it soon as a staging area for summer work on I-5. We’ll check back tomorrow.

SIDE NOTE: Officer Wiebke’s been writing publicly for a while about his work. His occasional posts are also now being featured on WSB; the latest is in our Forum.

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SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: USS Nimitz heading out on deployment

June 1, 2017 12:34 pm

| Comments Off on SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: USS Nimitz heading out on deployment

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Thanks to Sheattland for tweeting photos of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), seen from West Seattle, as it headed out of Rich Passage, leaving Bremerton for an expected six-month deployment. It has sailed past us several times in recent months – most recently in late April – for shorter training/certification trips in preparation for this deployment. It’s headed to the western Pacific, where two other carriers and their strike groups already are.

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‘CHANGE THE WORLD’ PROJECTS: The 8 problems Explorer West Middle School eighth-graders are tackling this year

June 1, 2017 11:18 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It’s a challenge, a lesson, and empowerment.

Every year, eighth graders at Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) are exhorted, invited, and assigned to “Change the World.”

That’s the theme of the group projects they must complete and present before leaving EWMS and moving on to high school.

We’ve featured some in past years – two years ago, a group that wanted to make sure kids of all abilities had a place to play, and made a difference in a local project; last year we featured a group advocating for expanding the availability of healthful food.

This year’s topics were, according to teacher Tim Owens, as chosen by students, all relating to sustainability:

– Bullying of students with disabilities
– Sexual harassment and assault in schools
– Immigrant rights
– Assistance for refugees
– Sex trafficking
– Youth homelessness
– Depression among adolescents
– Gender inequality (regarding pay)

Along with group projects, EWMS students invited world-changers to speak with them about some of those problems and what is being/can be done about them.

We were there on Tuesday afternoon as the entire school gathered in the gym to hear from four people representing organizations working on civil/human rights, and then moved on to classrooms where the eight groups of eighth-graders made their project presentations.
Read More

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BIZNOTE: Thunder Road Guitars adding 1st expansion location

June 1, 2017 10:17 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Some West Seattle businesses expand to Ballard, some to Burien. Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) is literally going much farther – expanding to Portland! Here’s how proprietor Frank Gross announced it:

We are thrilled to announce that this fall we will be opening another Thunder Road Guitars storefront in one of my favorite cities, Portland, Oregon. The new Portland store will act as a sister store to our flagship Seattle location and will be owned and operated by one of our own, Will York, who I’m sure most of you know. Will moved to Seattle from Gainesville, Florida, in 2012 and got his start in the musical instrument business winding pickups for Lollar Pickups. Will has been with us since 2015 and has become a true asset to Thunder Road Guitars.

We are so excited to have Portland be the first city outside of Seattle with a Thunder Road Guitars. The new store will be located in the Nob Hill neighborhood at 1024 NW 19th Ave and will be open for business in early September of this year. Thank you all so much for your support and business over the years, here’s to the next chapter!

Thunder Road Guitars’ West Seattle shop is in The Junction (4736 California SW).

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What’s ahead for your West Seattle Thursday

June 1, 2017 9:09 am

| Comments Off on What’s ahead for your West Seattle Thursday

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Jim Borrow, who says murmurations of European Starlings have been happening at Alki Point the past few nights)

Here’s what’s ahead for your Thursday:

USS NIMITZ HEADING OUT: Alert for ship-watchers – you can expect an aircraft carrier sighting late this morning as the USS Nimitz deploys from Bremerton.

HAWKS NEST WEST OPENS: As previewed here last night, the new bar/restaurant on Alki officially opens at 3 pm. (2806 Alki SW)

MOVE BOREN STEM K-8? As previewed here yesterday and last week, Seattle Public Schools officials will be at Louisa Boren STEM K-8 at 6:30 tonight to talk about the possibility they’ll propose moving the school to another building. (5950 Delridge Way SW)

DESIGN REVIEW FOR 5458 CALIFORNIA SW: What could be the final Southwest Design Review Board meeting for the six-live-work-unit project at California/Findlay is set for 6:30 pm tonight. The meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building includes a public-comment period. (4217 SW Oregon)

MARY LAMBERT AT EASY STREET: 7 pm, free Easy Street Records in-store concert by chart-topping, Grammy-nominated singer Mary Lambert – backstory in our calendar listing. All ages. (California SW/SW Alaska)

NORTH HIGHLINE UNINCORPORATED AREA COUNCIL: 7 pm at North Highline Fire District headquarters, the community council for White Center and vicinity meets. The agenda is previewed on our partner site White Center Now. (1243 SW 112th)

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Opening night at ArtsWest Playhouse, 7:30 pm curtain. Details in our calendar listing. (4711 California SW)

HORSE & TIGER: Live music at Parliament Tavern, 9 pm-midnight: “A night of funky instrumental improv, featuring members of The True Loves.” No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

MUCH MORE … on our complete-calendar page.

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