Ever wish someone would listen to you? District 1 Community Network is on it!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s a big peninsula. So who’s looking at the big picture?
That’s one thing the all-volunteer District 1 Community Network thinks it can help with.
But most important, D1CN still wants to know where you think its energies would be best applied.
So its nine-question survey will stay open until year’s end. (Answer it by going here!) That’s one thing decided when D1CN met Tuesday night at South Park Neighborhood Center, a last-minute substitute for the regular Duwamish Longhouse due to a scheduling mixup.
So far, more than 100 have responded. The nine questions are meant to help the group shape its work in supporting the community – perhaps educating people about interacting with the city, keeping a focus on accountability between the city and its commitments to the district (grants, projects, etc.), amplifying the work of nonprofits and other organizations. After more responses come in, they’ll discuss both the next round of findings as well as community concerns that have percolated in the meantime.
Other topics at the meeting focused on operational matters, as well as city issues that are bubbling up:
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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 4 notes
Crime Watch miscellany to report tonight:
DELRIDGE RESPONSE: Thanks for the text on this. King County Sheriff’s Office Transit Police responded to a report of a phone-robbery attempt aboard a bus late this afternoon. We found deputies at Delridge/Orchard (above); that’s all they could tell us.
SOUTH OF THE JUNCTION: Earlier in the afternoon, we were asked about a response at 5001 California SW. The call designation for this was “commercial burglary.”
HOME BURGLARIES: Two notes as we continue tracking a recent spike in these. First, Tweets by Beat shows two more reported late today, in the 6700 block of Fauntleroy Way SW and in the 4400 block of 42nd SW. Meantime, we obtained one report from the recent incidents we’ve mentioned, for the 8200 block of Northrop. The report says burglar(s) entered by kicking in a door to the house accessible from a carport. They ransacked most of the house, stealing items including jewelry boxes and an antique sword.
STOLEN-SUBARU FOLLOWUP: On Sunday, we published Ben and Jennifer‘s report that their green Subaru Outback had been stolen. Then in another Crime Watch thread on Monday, Ben commented that Bellevue Police had found it “with a car chase and everything.” So we asked BPD for more details:
Our officers responded to a parking lot to check for a stolen vehicle at 5:14 pm on 11/25/19. The car was not there, but was located southbound on 148th Ave to WB I-90. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled to a dead end where he abandoned the car. Our officers were able to recover the vehicle and have leads on the suspect.
No further details about items Ben said were in the car, though.
Woman injured at Oregon/42nd
8:16 PM: We didn’t catch it as an incident in progress, but we’ve received some questions about an incident at 42nd/Oregon around 7 pm, described by onlookers as an injured pedestrian. Followup information from police isn’t available – the scene was cleared before we arrived – but Seattle Fire tells us a woman in her 60s was taken to the hospital, assessed in stable condition when transported.
10:04 PM: The call coding on this has appeared on Tweets by Beat as “motor vehicle collision.”
VIDEO: Lights on! Menashe Family launches 2019 West Seattle display
6:07 PM: As previewed on Monday and noted in today’s daily-highlights list, this is the first night you can go see West Seattle’s brightest Christmas lights, the Menashe Family‘s display at 5605 Beach Drive SW [map]. Above, the big tree’s candy-cane pattern of red and white lights is part of what’s new; below, the front-door reindeer who has joined the assortment of inflatables:
When we visited at dusk, the bucket truck was still in use as some final touches were being worked on; our photographer has gone back for a few more views we’ll add later.
6:57 PM: The wide view:
A video walkthrough:
The train is a favorite sight:
One more reminder that this year’s visit by Santa – free photos; bring donations for the West Seattle Food Bank – is 6-10 pm on Saturday, December 14th.
WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: From seaspray to … snow?
4:28 PM: North winds and high tide combined for a show on Alki this past hour.
(This photo and next by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
The forecast looks good – though cold – for Thanksgiving Day and Friday, sunny with a high near 40, but the s-word has crept back into the forecast for the weekend …
SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of rain and snow after midnight. Snow level near sea level. Lows near 30.
SUNDAY…Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain and snow in the morning, then a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. Snow level near 300 feet in the morning. Highs in the lower 40s.
Just a chance – and shortlived if it happens, the “forecast discussion” elaborates – but you are hereby forewarned.
6:45 PM: Photos added from this afternoon’s waves.
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
There could be a repeat tomorrow, as north winds are expected again; afternoon high tide is at 4:56 pm.
LIGHT RAIL: New round of testing in West Seattle – ‘shear wave velocity’
Starting as soon as one week from today, Sound Transit plans the next round of soil testing for the West Seattle light-rail extension. Here’s how spokesperson David Jackson explains what’ll be done: “Also called (corrected) shear wave velocity testing, this will measure how vibrations travel through the soil at each site to establish a better understanding of seismic soil classifications along the corridor. Crews will be lowering a probe from a tripod to take readings and measurements at various depths downhole. Work at each location will last about 3-6 hours.” This is all part of environmental studies for the draft report that’s now expected to go public in early 2021.
P.S. A reminder – also coming up, the next ST “neighborhood forum,” this time specifically focusing on the Delridge station area, 10 am-noon Saturday, December 7th, at Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way SW. (Here’s our report on last week’s West Seattle-wide forum.)
WEST SEATTLE HOLIDAYS: Thanksgiving, Black Friday/Small Business Saturday updates
Holiday info updates!
THANKSGIVING: Just added another spot to the list of restaurants and bars-with-food that told us they’ll be open – if you’d rather have tacos than turkey (or, for lunch, to tide you until dinner), Tacos Guaymas in The Junction will be open until 3. See our list here – and please let us know if you have additions or changes!
Then of course, Friday and Saturday you’ll be out shopping local … here’s one place to be:
BLACK FRIDAY/SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: As featured in that short commercial, Thunder Road Guitars (6400 California SW; WSB sponsor) is having a sale both days, celebrating its 8th anniversary (first holiday season since moving to Morgan Junction with co-housed The Bass Shop, also a WSB sponsor). Also in Morgan Junction, Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW) has a Small Biz Saturday plan:
We will be providing free holiday gift wrapping from 10-5, treats all day and a special 10% off coupon if you spend over $50*. Larry The Librarian will be joining us for family reading time at 11:00!
We will also be joining other independent bookstores with a Literary Angel Tree, providing new books to kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Look for the tree and basket at the front of the store and give the gift of books!
In The Junction, Black Friday is “Sleigh the Sales” day – starting with Easy Street Records opening at 7 am, and then a long list of merchants having sales you’ll find on the Junction Association Hometown Holidays page – then Small Biz Saturday has a separate list here. We’re adding it all to our Holiday Guide – not too late to send us your shopping specials so we can include them too.
FOLLOWUP: Judge’s ruling puts Initiative 976 on hold, for now
That’s the ruling from King County Superior Court judge Marshall Ferguson this morning, putting Initiative 976 on hold while the lawsuit against it is argued. Among the parties to the suit claiming it’s unconstitutional is the city of Seattle, which sent the document and quotes including this from Mayor Jenny Durkan: “This is good news for transit, safety, and equity in Seattle. We are pleased that the Court recognized the severe and irreparable harm to our residents that would have occurred without this injunction. Our residents rely on Metro bus service, ORCA cards, neighborhood safety improvements and road maintenance. … A supermajority of Seattle voted this irresponsible measure down in Seattle. That is because Seattle votes every day with our feet and with our dollars to invest in more transit.” The results certified on Tuesday show 59.47% of King County voters rejected 976; statewide, 52.99% of voters approved it. The document above (it’s here in PDF if you can’t read it there) spells out what plaintiffs say is at risk of cuts – including Metro bus service – if 976 were allowed to take effect December 5th as written; it also says that if ultimately 976 is upheld, overpaid taxes/fees can be refunded. So bottom line – no change in your license fees TFN. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, in charge of defending the initiative since voters approved it, says, “This is not a final judgment, and this case is far from over. We will continue working to defend the will of the voters. This case will ultimately wind up before the State Supreme Court. We are working now to determine our immediate next steps.”
WestSide Baby’s longtime leader Nancy Woodland leaving that role, but not the fight
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Children’s issues are everybody’s issues.”
That’s the point Nancy Woodland stresses, in explaining why she’s leaving WestSide Baby after 13 years, to fight for children’s rights in a larger arena.
We spoke with her as the nonprofit prepared for this morning’s announcement of her decision to depart at year’s end.
WestSide Baby’s executive director hasn’t yet decided how she will carry on that fight. “I do know I’ve figured out my passion is in, and will continue to be, children’s basic needs, anti-poverty work, systems change, social justice work, that’s really bubbled up in the past two years.” And that means something larger than running an organization, even one that’s grown as much as WestSide Baby, from serving 4,000 children to 35,000 children, from a staff of two part-timers to a staff of 24, mostly full time.
While those numbers represent real growth, Woodland says internal growth and “cultural change” in the organization has been essential too, including changes in the way it works with other providers as well a its clients, and recognition that it must do more than collect and distribute essential items: “The direction we’re going (also includes) social justice and anti-racism (and) systems change.”
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