West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
1:56 PM: The photo and stolen-car report are from Eric:
It is a 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, burgundy/dark red color. License plate #AYC6610. It has a small dent in the rear door. It was stolen sometime Saturday night at 37th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St. in the Gatewood neighborhood.
The police have been notified, but I’m offering a $250 reward if you find it, so please call 911 and then call (removed) to let me know too.
UPDATED EARLY THURSDAY: Eric reports the vehicle was found – by his wife, who spotted it along 35th SW between Henderson and Barton.
(WSB photo from 2016 Fauntleroy Fall Festival)
Sunday (October 15th) brings the Fauntleroy Fall Festival – and a preview was the centerpiece of last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting, including:
NEW THIS YEAR: You’ll find a raptor display in the garden area behind The Hall at Fauntleroy, between the building and the open area where you’ll find the pony rides and petting zoo. Also new, an inflatable obstacle course and some extra activities for the littlest festivalgoers.
RETURNING FAVORITES: Birdhouse-building in the Fauntleroy Church parking lot, visiting vehicles from Seattle Police (the Mobile Precinct is expected) and Seattle Fire. Lots of live music around the festival grounds!
FOOD: Vendors will include Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering with brats and squash soup, plus pretzel sticks … Fauntleroy’s new Wildwood Market will be there … Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) too … and “the tamale guy.”
CAKE WALK AND DECORATING CONTEST: It’s a highlight every year and cakes are needed – from the festival announcement:
There are three categories: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. To enter, bring your decorated cake to the Vashon Room at The Hall at Fauntleroy on Sunday 10/15 between 12 noon and 1 pm. Voting takes place from 1:30-3 pm. Prizes will be awarded for each category! The Cake Walk follows and continues until all the cakes are gone. Cakes can be any shape or size. They should have an autumn, Halloween, or West Seattle theme.
The festival is 2-5 pm Sunday on both sides of California SW in the heart of Fauntleroy – around Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW, east side of the street) and The Hall at Fauntleroy/Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW, west side).
Also at last night’s meeting:
CRIME TRENDS: Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith said the Fauntleroy area is seeing an increase in car prowls and auto theft and as often happens, police suspect it’s related to a repeat offender’s recent release, with some new accomplices, and Southwest officers/detectives are on their trail. Asked how best to thwart them, Lt. Smith repeated the most-important advice – leave absolutely nothing in your vehicle, and keep it locked.
FERRY BRIEFING: Gary Dawson, who’s on the Ferry Advisory Committee for Fauntleroy as well as the Triangle Task Force, updated the FCA board on the ongoing travails related to trying to reduce backups – including the recent meeting on Vashon (WSB coverage here).
The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets second Tuesdays most months, 7 pm at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse.
(Spotted towhee, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Here are highlights of what’s happening in West Seattle, morning through night, on your Wednesday:
JOB FAIR: Happening now until 1 pm at Neighborhood House High Point – details in our calendar listing. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
FIREFIGHTER STORY TIME: 10:30-11 am at Southwest Library – your little ones get to see and hear firefighters reading to them and explaining fire safety. (9010 35th SW)
FLU SHOTS: As previewed here on Tuesday, both Denny International Middle School (1:30-5:30 pm; 2601 SW Kenyon) and West Seattle High School (3-6 pm; 3000 California SW) have flu-shot clinics this afternoon, not just for students and staff. This is happening “after school” since Wednesdays are two-hour-early-release days.
DACA SUPPORT DEMONSTRATION: 5-6 pm, join Hate-Free Delridge in a demonstration supporting the immigrants known as “Dreamers,” on the pedestrian overpass over Delridge Way at Oregon.
WEST SEATTLE NIGHT OUT FOR DISASTER RELIEF: As organized by the local Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions Clubs, from 5 pm to 9 pm at multiple West Seattle venues, a portion of the proceeds go to hurricane and earthquake relief. See the latest list in our calendar listing – if there’s any late word of additional participants, we’ll add to it.
EXPLORER WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 6:30-8 pm, find out more about Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) at the first fall open house, during which “families explore classrooms, talk to our faculty and staff, and engage with our parents and students.” (10015 28th SW)
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL PTSA: First meeting of the year, 7 pm in the school library. Hear from new principal Brian Vance among others. (3000 California SW)
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, this area’s largest political organization gathers for its monthly meeting, last one before the general election. According to the latest newsletter, tonight’s agenda includes the county levy that’s on the ballot. (9131 California SW)
THE BILLY JOE SHOW: Live music 8-11 pm at Parliament Tavern. No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
THAT’S NOT ALL! See our full calendar for everything happening today, tonight, tomorrow, and beyond.
From the West Seattle anad Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor), it’s registration time for youth basketball! The announcement:
Hit the hardwoods with the folks who invented the game – the YMCA.
In this league for ages 4 to 11, your child will learn the fundamentals of basketball, sportsmanship, teamwork, and healthy habits while practicing skills and having fun. We promise no getting cut and no bench warmers! YMCA youth sports encourage and promote healthy kids, families and communities by placing a priority on family involvement, healthy competition rather than rivalry, the value of participation over winning, team-building as well as individual development, a positive self-image and a sense of fair play and mutual respect for others. Parents are encouraged to be more than mere spectators, by contributing their time as volunteer coaches – as well as being their kid’s greatest fan.
Practice starts the week of November 27. Games begin January 6.
Registration is open now! Learn more and sign up here.
As you’ll see via that link, discount rates are available for another week and a half!
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:02 AM: Good morning – so far, no incidents reported in/from West Seattle.
LOOKING AHEAD: Reminder that Seattle Public Schools have no classes this Friday (October 13th) – in-service day for teachers.
12:51 AM: Thanks for the messages. Police have investigated two reports of possible gunfire in the past two hours – 911 had multiple reports in both cases, no word of any victims, and so far we don’t know what evidence if any was found. Both were heard in North Delridge. We’ll check later this morning to see if police found shell casings or property damage in either case.
11:13 AM: So far this morning, the incident types listed in report logs do not suggest evidence of gunfire was found – which doesn’t necessarily mean it was something else; sometimes it doesn’t turn up until daylight.
(Monday photo by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)
A judge has set bail at $100,000 for 26-year-old Kierra M. Ward, arrested Monday afternoon after a short police standoff on an Admiral street, accused of stabbing a woman who was out for a walk with her baby.
Probable-cause documents from today’s bail hearing don’t reveal much more about the attack beyond what we and commenters reported yesterday – the brief police narrative says the original call was that a woman had stabbed another woman; first officers on the scene reported finding Ward, holding “a large kitchen knife,” and launching the eventually successful attempt to get her to surrender less than an hour later, while other officers found the victim and cared for her until SFD arrived to take her to the hospital. The court document describes her as having suffered injuries to her head, face, and hands “from Ward slashing at her with the large knife.” (Her infant son was not injured.) The document also says Ward threatened to stab a man who was trying to help the victim and pointed the knife at him, which explains why the original notation on her jail-register listing included investigation of felony harassment as well as investigation of assault. The documents do not mention anything about Ward having a criminal record, and as we noted in Monday’s coverage, we have not found one online.
The victim, according to a commenter and to someone who called us today, is out of the hospital and continuing her recovery at home.
Regarding commenters recognizing Ward as someone who has long slept outdoors at Hiawatha Playfield, today’s documents list her “last known address” as being on Walnut SW just east of Hiawatha.Community Center. Our conversation with the aforementioned caller may explain that: The caller contacted us in response to our question about whether anyone had reported, and/or tried to get help for, Ward. The caller reported knowing both Ward and the victim, saying that Ward had lived in a car along Walnut until it was towed, and then started sleeping outside on the field. The caller reported befriending and suggesting resources for Ward, with multiple interactions, and said Ward never showed signs of mental illness or other instability, aside from apparently choosing not to take advantage of the suggested resources, so far as the caller knew.
We may find out more details on the case if/when charges are filed in the next day or two. And in case you wondered – the incident was not brought up by anyone at tonight’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, which did not have a police representative in attendance (none was scheduled, but sometimes we’ve seen last-minute changes at neighborhood meetings after an incident of significance).
Three Junction notes:
TAGGING VANDALISM TO BE CLEANED UP: Thanks to everyone who tipped us about the particularly big and brazen tagging across the front of the former Radio Shack store at 4505 California SW. We checked in with West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Swift, who had just put up the sign you see in our photo – informing everyone interested that it is scheduled to be cleaned up tomorrow.
Also in The Junction, more bike-share bicycles were dropped off today:
RENTAL BIKES REPLENISHED: The orange bicycles in the truck are from Spin; the truck was replenishing/adding them at spots along California, judging by what we later saw as we headed south, all the way to the bottom of Gatewood Hill. The green rental bicycles are from LimeBike, also in view along the sidewalk (we see them most often in use), and there’s also been a recent multiple-bike appearance by the third company authorized to operate in the city, Ofo, whose bicycles are yellow. Anna sent this photo as they appeared on corners in the heart of The Junction a few days ago:
Those three companies have permits to have thousands of bikes out around the city. The trend is spreading nationwide.
RECYCLING REMINDER: Our third and final Junction note – just four days until the dropoff Recycle/Reuse event on Saturday (October 14th), 9 am-1 pm, in the Junction lot along 42nd SW just south of SW Oregon – here are details about what they will and won’t take.
Sorry to have another disturbing incident to report today, but we also wanted to thank the people who e-mailed us to ask about it, after they saw the victim’s husband’s post on a neighborhood group but didn’t see anything about the incident on WSB and thought more people should know. Saturday night, a woman was grabbed while walking on the path (photo above) to 28th SW from behind Westwood Village Target. We obtained the police report today. The narrative begins with officers being dispatched at 7:49 pm Saturday to a nearby residence where they found the victim, a woman in her 30s:
(The victim) stated that she was walking home from Westwood Village when she cut through a walkway that connects the parking lot to 28 Av SW. (The victim) stated that she was walking when she observed a man standing in the walkway. As (the victim) walked by the man, she stated that he grabbed her left shoulder and squeezed. (The victim) stated that the unidentified suspect mumbled something to her, but she could not understand what he said. (The victim) reported that the suspect appeared to be intoxicated.
(She) described the suspect as a W/M [white male], ín his early 20s, with short blond hair and wearing a dark gray sweatshirt with blue jeans. (The victim) also stated that the suspect is around 5’10-6′ tall and thin.
(She) explained that she often walks through the walkway and has not previously seen the suspect. She also stated that it is an area where transients frequentÌy hang out and sleep. (She) reported that it has been an ongoing issue with transient people sleepinq and staying in the area of the walkway. (She) explained that there are multiple beds made of cardboard, un-capped needles, trash, and empty alcohol bottles littering the walkway. I advised (the victim) to call the SW Community Policing Team regarding the ongoing issues.
The report says the officer then searched the area and didn’t find anyone resembling the suspect, and that the victim did not have injuries requiring treatment. After obtaining the report, we went over for a look at the pathway – the photo above looks back toward Target, and we noted this syringe along the way:
Community Police Team contacts for the Southwest Precinct, by the way, are listed here – eastern West Seattle sectors are assigned to Officer O’Neil. Also of note, this is a few blocks east of where 2 students walking to school were inappropriately approached a week ago, and not much further from where two other students were flashed last Friday.
4:49 PM: Thanks for the tips: If you use 1st Avenue South to get to/from, or instead of, the West Seattle Bridge, be advised the intersection is closed right now, after a collision that SPD says involved a bicycle rider and a semitruck.
5:39 PM: Per scanner, 1st/Spokane is now reopening, all directions. Right now, though, we don’t have any information about the condition of anyone involved in the collision.
ADDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: As noted in comments, SPD provided some information in a blotter post today; the collision involved a bicyclist and dump-truck driver. The bicyclist is a 61-year-old man whose injuries are described as life-threatening.
The Seattle Animal Shelter just sent this alert, seeking help in finding the person who threw an ailing dog out of a car in West Seattle near Fairmount Park Elementary School last month:
The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons who failed to provide veterinary care for a dog then abandoned him in West Seattle. The dog was in clear medical distress and was suffering when someone tossed him from a stopped vehicle.
On Sunday, Sept. 24, a witness observed the dog being tossed from a purple Dodge minivan by someone described as a heavyset African-American man with dreadlocks. This incident occurred in the 5600 block of 38th Avenue SW [map]. A Seattle Animal Shelter officer responded and transported the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic. Unfortunately, the dog did not survive. Abandoning an animal and failing to provide medical care necessary for an animal’s health or to alleviate its pain are crimes, said Seattle Animal Shelter Executive Director Ann Graves.
“This is a very disturbing case of callousness and an act of animal cruelty,” Graves said.
If you recognize the dog or the description of the van or know who is responsible for abandoning this dog, please call Seattle Animal Shelter’s acting manager of field services, Don Baxter, at 206-386-4288 and reference case number C04542592. Any information about the person who did this is vital to solving this case, Graves said.
“Abandoning an animal that is suffering and in desperate need of medical attention is unconscionable and a clear violation of our state’s animal cruelty statutes,” said Dan Paul, Washington state director for The Humane Society of the United States. “We are grateful the Seattle Animal Shelter was able to respond quickly and hopeful that this reward brings forward anyone with information about this heinous act of cruelty.”
First degree animal cruelty is a Class C felony punishable by five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
The Seattle Animal Shelter enforces both SMC 9.25.081 and RCW 16.52.205, which make it illegal to abuse or neglect an animal. If you feel that an animal is being neglected or abused, please contact the Seattle Animal Shelter at 206-386-PETS (7387).
The dog was gray and white, male, and, in the only photo provided by SAS, appears to be dying or already dead, so be forewarned if you decide to click.
ADDED 4:31 PM: Full description of the dog, as an alternative to viewing the photo, from SAS: “Adult (estimated age 4-6 years), unneutered male, American Pitbull Terrier, gray/blue in color with white on the neck/chest, feet, and a blaze marking up the muzzle.”
Thanks to school nurse Alison Enochs for the heads-up on these flu-shot clinics tomorrow afternoon (remember that Wednesdays are early-release days all year in Seattle Public Schools, so this is basically happening “after school”):
DENNY INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL GALLERIA (2601 SW Kenyon): Rite-Aid is presenting this flu-shot clinic. No cost if you have insurance, $34.99 if not. 1:30-5:30 pm Wednesday (October 11th).
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL (3000 California SW): 3-6 pm Wednesday. Bring your insurance card (all plans except Cigna will be billed); if you don’t have insurance, no cost for people under 18 (who need a patient-consent form signed by a parent or guardian, available at the clinic), $30 for 18 and up.
Our video is from 59th and Admiral, during the Monday morning walk to school at Alki Elementary, just north of the intersection. It’s been a little over a month since SDOT changed the intersection to an all-way stop – previously, east-west traffic didn’t have to stop unless the north-south signal on the east side of the intersection was activated by pedestrian(s). It’s the first phase of what SDOT announced as a two-way “crossing improvement.” Some say it’s been anything but.
Parents from Alki Elementary have formed a Traffic Safety Task Force. They met with us at the intersection before school at Monday morning to show us what they say are more-dangerous conditions since the change, with some drivers still seeming confused about how the intersection is supposed to work, resulting in, for example, turns made through the crosswalk while pedestrians are still in it:
In the parents’ correspondence with SDOT so far, it’s been reiterated that the department is evaluating the changes over a six-month period before deciding whether to make them permanent and to continue to Phase 2. The parents say this is more urgent than that – we’re going into the dark, rainy months and even on the clearest winter day, many will be crossing before sunrise, and the intersection is challenging enough now.
The one marked crosswalk at the intersection already serves as the only marked crossing on Admiral Way from 49th to 59th, all part of the Alki Elementary attendance zone.
What they want, as Merkys Gomez from the Task Force summarizes: “An all-way traffic signal (i.e. traffic light) that is pedestrian and vehicle activated with no-turn-on-red signs, and red light and speeding cameras for ticketing, at a minimum, during school commute times. We also need appropriate signage installed indicating that this is a school zone, with flashing beacons.”
While the city hasn’t added red-light cameras in a long time (West Seattle has two, at 35th/Avalon and 35th/Thistle), it’s continued to slowly expand the list of speed-enforcement cameras in school zones; in West Seattle, they are installed along Fauntleroy Way SW near Gatewood Elementary, along Delridge Way SW near Louisa Boren STEM K-8, and along SW Roxbury near Roxhill Elementary (which is scheduled to be vacated next school year) and Holy Family School. Even more elementaries have flashing “20 mph school zone” beacons, minus cameras, nearby, including Genesee Hill, Highland Park, and Gatewood.
This morning, the Traffic Safety Task Force parents were scheduled to meet with at least one SDOT official to continue discussing their concerns. But the request for a full-service signal has already been turned down – here’s what SDOT spokesperson Dawn Schellenberg told the Alki parents via e-mail:
Unfortunately, at this time traffic operations do not meet Federal Highway guidelines for full signal installation so this is not a resolution we can move forward.
Noting that 47th/Admiral has a full signal, without a school zone in the immediate area, they are asking for an explanation of where 59th/Admiral doesn’t meet “guidelines.” They also want to know how SDOT is collecting “public input” during the six-month review, as they haven’t seen any calls for it yet.
By the way, as shown in our video above, the intersection does have a crossing guard – but not guaranteed; the parents say that if the guard has an off or sick day, they’re not replaced. Not that the guard’s presence in the roadway prevented all rule-breaking, we noticed while we were there. SDOT told the parents that when a traffic officer was at the intersection in the early going after the all-way-stop change, SPD saw “99 percent compliance,” but didn’t provide data, so the parents are asking for that too.
ADDED TUESDAY EVENING: Nearby resident Tim has since recorded video at the intersection and provided it to the Alki Elementary Traffic Safety Task Force as well as to us, via this YouTube clip.
(WSB photo from Sunday morning)
Continuing to pursue several West Seattle Crime Watch followups, we just got an update on Sunday morning’s ATM theft at the 44th/Edmunds Chase drive-up in The Junction: Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson tells us the stolen ATM was “recovered (Monday) morning at a location in the South Precinct,” so that precinct is now handling the followup investigation. He also provided the narrative from Sunday morning’s original theft report. The report says that the ATM was already gone when police arrived, responding to the 911 call “that a forklift was being used to steal an ATM machine.” Police were told that the ATM was “loaded into a Penske moving truck which left in an unknown direction.” The report says the forklift – which, as we reported Sunday, was left behind – had been stolen from a construction site in the 4800 block of Fauntleroy Way SW (which would be about four blocks east of the theft location), and was eventually taken back to that site by private tow after it was checked for prints and other evidence. At the time the report was filed, police were working to get access to the camera that potentially had video of the theft. Meantime, as we added yesterday to Sunday’s report, Chase says replacement plans are already in progress and the ATM location should be back in business by the end of the month.
(This rainbow made a brief appearance early Sunday, seen looking north from Upper Alki. Photo by Don Brubeck)
Somewhere over the rainbow … your neighbors are working to make West Seattle the best place it can be. Second Tuesday of the month means at least three community-council meetings in our area most months. They’re on the list of calendar highlights for today/tonight, with more:
PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER AT NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE HIGH POINT: 10:30-11:30 am preschool-enrichment event: “‘Sense-Sational’ Science Show with the Pacific Science Center.” Geared toward kids 3-5 but all ages welcome. Free. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
SOUTH SEATTLE FIBER ARTS CLUB: Knitters, crocheters, quilters, etc. are invited to drop in at Highland Park Improvement Club and work on their projects with the South Seattle Fiber Arts Club, 11 am-1 pm. Free and open to the public. (1116 SW Holden)
RECYCLED-PAPER-COLLAGE WORKSHOP: 6-8 pm with Linda McClamrock at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – check our listing to see how to register. (
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at The Sanctuary at Admiral. Guests include Judie Messier from the Westside Neighbors Network “virtual village” forming in West Seattle to help people “age in place.” This year’s Admiral District Trick or Treating event will be discussed, too. All welcome. (42nd SW/SW Lander)
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm FCA board meeting at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse; all welcome. (9131 California SW)
SOUTH PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at the South Park Neighborhood Center, with the featured guest Sgt. Eric Zerr from the city’s Navigation Team. All welcome. (8201 10th Ave. S.)
AND THERE’S LOTS MORE for today/tonight/beyond … check it out on our full calendar.
If you don’t check in on the WSB Lost/Found Pets page, you might have missed this news, so we’re mentioning it here too: Poppy the Siamese cat is home. More than three weeks after disappearing from Pigeon Point – we posted owner Teresa‘s notice on September 17th – he turned up near the “low bridge” yesterday morning. In the comment section of Poppy’s post, bicyclist Alan explained that he had seen another rider looking for a Siamese cat who had run across the bike path and hidden in the bushes. Alan told the other rider about Poppy. That rider, John, contacted Poppy‘s people (Alan had called too); Teresa later posted, “I was able to go to the exact location you described and find him. … He has lost quite a bit of weight but seems to be in pretty good shape other than that.” As another comment pointed out, Poppy’s people had gone to great lengths to have the entire peninsula on the lookout for him.
We are glad the WSB Lost/Found Pets page – the only West Seattle-wide lost/found pets page, with hundreds of reunions since 2008 thanks to caring readers – could help; e-mail info/photo/contact # to editor@westseattleblog.com if you are looking for/have found a pet.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:24 AM: No incidents in/from West Seattle so far this morning.
(WSB photos. Above, closeup look at the fuse that can blow to ‘isolate damage’)
Though the weather’s been relatively calm otherwise, Friday’s breeziness might have reminded you that windstorm season is getting closer. And with – sometimes without – wind, comes power trouble. That’s why Seattle City Light invited media crews to its SODO yard (the one next to the West Seattle Bridge on 4th Avenue South) today. The message was twofold: City Light is working to upgrade technology to shorten outages – and urges you to be ready for them. Here’s spokesperson Scott Thomsen:
The briefing included an explanation of what some describe as “transformer explosions” – they are actually fuses that blow protectively:
When a tree falls into power lines, or heavy ice and snow weigh down branches that then cross two or more power lines, it creates a short circuit. The resulting power surge that could damage equipment. Utilities have circuit breakers and fuses in place to protect equipment, such as the transformers that reduce the voltage of electricity from the distribution grid to the service level voltage for your home or business. Those breakers open and fuses blow to isolate damage and protect other equipment, which reduces the likelihood of prolonged power outages for entire neighborhoods.
Once power is out, crews have to both fix the problem and route power around it. New technology is being tested that will automatically handle the latter. In the meantime, SCL continues to take preventive measures such as tree-trimming and vegetation-clearing along 600 miles of power lines every year.
Though SCL is also starting to install automated meters that will give the system a better idea of who’s out and where, they still ask you to call when the power goes out – 206-684-3000 – keep that number in your phone. And check out these preparedness checklists – before the weather gets into the potential-outage zone.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, starting with the theft of a classic car:
STOLEN 1965 PLYMOUTH VALIANT: You would know it if you saw it. Devon sent that photo with this report:
One of our daily drivers was stolen from outside of our house within the last month and police have had no luck tracking it down. The thieves broke into our home, found the keys, and as well as taking other valuable things from inside, they took our car. It is a 1965 Plymouth Valiant 4 door that is a creamy white color and has areas on the doors where it is just primer (white). It was taken from 28th Ave SW between SW Holden & SW Webster. We made a police report as soon as it happened with the Southwest Precinct and the case number is 17-343770. It is a one-of-a-kind car in this area and we’re hoping someone has seen it or knows something! Thank you.
ANOTHER HOLE-IN-GAS-TANK CASE: Last Wednesday, we mentioned a report of multiple punctured gas tanks. Nick reports it happened to him today:
This morning around 9 am, my Toyota Tacoma truck had its gas tank drilled out and emptied of 17 gallons of gasoline while I volunteered at Fairmount Park Elementary. This was in front of 5437 Fauntleroy Ave SW, near SW Findlay St.
I plugged the hole with a bolt and made it to the Toyota dealer in SODO, where I was told this has been happening lately, especially to pickups. I filed a police report, but with no suspects or witnesses, I don’t see the vandals being caught…yet. Keep an eye out for people lurking around vehicles with a drill…
BROKEN CAR WINDOW: This too is not the first such report we’ve received lately. Kyle sent the photo and report from Arbor Heights:
This morning I came out to my car to find the rear windshield had been broken. We live on 100th and 39th.There are never any valuables kept in the car; as a result no items were taken. This appears to be just vandalism. We thought that we lived in a safe neighborhood and we have a street light right in front of our house, but now we are thinking we need to invest in a security camera.
He later sent an update, mentioning finding a one-inch marble inside the car, suspecting that is what was used to break the window.
P.S. Next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – when you can bring neighborhood concerns to, and hear about crime trends/crimefighting emphases from, local police – is a week from tomorrow, Tuesday, October 17th, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct.
5:04 PM: A $6.8 million Port of Seattle project to remove 2,000 creosote pilings from the north end of Terminal 5 is about to start. Port commissioner John Creighton mentioned it in his “State of the Port” speech to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce last month, and port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB it’s about to begin:
he Port of Seattle will remove more than 2,000 creosote treated piles and 5,000 sq. ft. of overwater coverage from Elliott Bay, off the north end of Terminal 5, beginning this week.
The port has worked with the EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington State departments of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Muckleshoot and Duwamish Tribes to plan and execute removal of the piles/overwater cover. The work is being done in advance of a Superfund cleanup project being undertaken by the Lockheed Martin Company in the same area.
Removal of the piles is required as part of a lease termination agreement with the Department of Natural Resources.
Through 2016 the port has removed 11,420 creosote treated piles and is on track to remove 80 percent of all creosote treated piles from port-owned facilities by 2026.
The Terminal 5 pile removal project is expected to be completed by the end of March, 2018.
There’s more backstory in this document from a Port Commission meeting back in June, and we have followup questions out about exactly how the pilings will be removed and disposed of.
ADDED TUESDAY MORNING: Port spokesperson McGraw has answered those questions with information from the contractor’s Demolition Work Plan – read on for the details: Read More
As announced last week, this Wednesday, October 11th, is a multiple-venue fundraiser for hurricane and earthquake victims, West Seattle Night Out for Disaster Relief, organized by three local service clubs – the West Seattle Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions. Five restaurants are donating part of their proceeds, 5-9 pm, according to organizers:
Be’s Restaurant (4509 California SW; checking on hours, since it usually closes earlier)
Great American Diner and Bar (4752 California SW)
Kizuki Ramen and Izakaya (4203 SW Alaska)
Puerto Vallarta (4727 California SW)
Spiro’s Pizza and Pasta (3401 California SW)
At those venues, you also can drop off checks for direct donations to disaster relief – made out to the Rotary Service Foundation with the specific codes and designations mentioned on this page. We’ll have another update tomorrow.
12:55 PM: If you’re wondering about the police response in Admiral – they are dealing with a woman reported to be in crisis, reported to have a knife, according to scanner traffic. This is happening near 41st SW and SW College [map]. An “assault with weapons” SFD response also has been dispatched. More as we get it.
1:01 PM: Still per scanner, they are trying to talk the woman into dropping the knife. We don’t know if anyone has been injured.
1:08 PM: Please avoid the area; the police presence is continuing to grow.
1:20 PM: We’ve spoken to a witness who lives near the scene. We’ve also learned that another woman was injured and has been taken to the hospital – she’s who the SFD response was for – and the woman with whom police are dealing is a suspect. The witness tells us that he first saw two women, one of them clearly having been injured and yelling for help, the one that police are now trying to take into custody. SWAT officers have arrived.
(Photo added – officers taking suspect into custody)
1:25 PM: Our crew confirms what we just heard via scanner – the suspect is in custody.
1:35 PM: Lieutenant at the scene tells our crew that the victim has “cuts,” not life-threatening injuries. The suspect will be booked into jail; she is described as having surrendered voluntarily (no force used, though police had a Taser-equipped officer standing by as well as SWAT). 41st SW has just reopened.
2:48 PM: Christopher Boffoli, one of two photojournalists who were at the scene for WSB, recorded this video of the suspect’s surrender and arrest:
We will follow the case through the system.
3:54 PM: Here’s what has just been posted on SPD Blotter. The only detail in it that we didn’t have is the suspect’s age, 26.
Though November 7th is Election Day, ballots go out a lot sooner – October 18th, less than a week and a half away. If you’re not already registered to vote, today is the last day to do it the easiest way – online. If you’re into procrastinating, you can do it in person until October 30th, but why wait? Find more how-to info here.
P.S. Besides the mayor’s race, you’ll also be voting on:
-Two citywide City Council positions
-City Attorney
-Three School Board positions
-Three Port Commission positions
-County Executive
-County Sheriff
–County Proposition 1
-Two judges
–Three state “advisory measures,” including one about the education-funding tax increase
P.P.S. The only major West Seattle forum of the general-election campaign is one week from Thursday – 6:30 pm October 19th, presented by the WS Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition, focused on business and transportation issues, at American Legion Post 160 (3618 SW Alaska), with candidates for mayor and City Council Positions 8 and 9 expected.
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