West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
SHOT-UP SIGN: Vlad sent the photo after spotting the bullet holes in that stop sign at 37th & Ida Thistle in Gatewood. “It appears that there are still bullets lodged in the center section where the pole is located behind.” No way to know how recently this happened – he spotted it while walking on a street that’s not his regular route – but he reported it to police.
PACKAGE TAKEN: This security video is from the front porch of a house in the 3800 block of SW Graham last Friday night:
While it might look as if the person in the video dropped something off while picking up the package that was taken, the sender says nothing was actually left behind.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: The community groups that regularly meet at the Southwest Precinct are emerging from holiday hiatus, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, next Tuesday (January 15th) at 7 pm. It’s your chance to bring neighborhood crime/safety concerns directly to local police. The precinct is at 2300 SW Webster
Family and friends will gather Saturday (January 12th) to remember Louis (Eric) Erickson Jr. They are sharing this remembrance with the community:
It is with great sadness that the family of Louis (Eric) Erickson Jr. announces his unexpected and sudden passing on January 7, 2019 at 60 years old. For those of you fortunate enough to have known Eric, you knew a funny, sweet, and caring man who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it and never asked for anything in return.
Eric was born and raised in West Seattle and was proud to say he lived there his entire life. He attended Alki Elementary, James Madison Junior High, and West Seattle High School (Class of ’77). During high school, he played varsity football and was a track star. It was also there that he met his high-school sweetheart, Deanna Tetrick.
Eric and Deanna were married shortly after high school and had two children together. Jennifer was born in ’79 and her little brother Louis III was born shortly after in ’83. They were the lights of his life and, in his words, the best things that ever happened to him. He was a dedicated family man even through tough times. He and Deanna eventually divorced and co-parented their children together. He coached his son’s basketball team, taught his daughter the proper way to maintain her car, and was over the moon when he became a grandfather.
In 1993, Eric was sent on a blind date that was set up by a co-worker. Sparks flew and there he met his soon-to-be wife, Heather. She was not only his wife, but his best friend and he would tell everyone he met how she had saved his life. He pursued a career as a medical assistant and loved what he did until physical disabilities left him unable to work. He soon took on the career as “professional grandpa” and manager of the Westview Plaza apartments.
Eric was a tried and true West Seattleite with strong ties to his community. He regularly frequented the West Seattle Thriftway to chat up the people at the deli or you would see him at The Bridge enjoying a burger. He would tell anyone who would listen about childhood escapades in Schmitz Park or how Alki has changed since he was a boy. He would bring his yellow roses as gifts to anyone who might want them. He had a sense of humor like no other and would even joke at his own expense just to bring a smile to anyone around him.
He is survived by his wife Heather, two children, Jennifer and Louis III (Kara), stepdaughter Rebecca (Ryan), and ten grandchildren (Nautica, Isaiah, Chrisheil, Jayloni, Kaylia, Tobin, Rex, Pearl, June, and Evelyn). He loved his kids and grandkids more than anything, and was having a great time being a grandpa, or “pop pop” as he was also called. He will be deeply missed.
Services will be held at Alki Congregational Church on January 12, 2019 from 12-2 pm. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Emerald City Pet Rescue/Kitty Harbor at emeraldcitypetrescue.org.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(File photo: Log House Museum, SWSHS HQ)
The new year brings new leadership to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Here’s the announcement:
The SWSHS Board of Trustees announces the departure of Jeff McCord from the position of Executive Director. Jeff’s leadership role with the society began in July 2017, and during this time, he oversaw successful exhibits in the Log House Museum and the many programs sponsored by the historical society.
Jeff is looking forward to focusing on his family, serving on non-profit boards and additional volunteerism in the community, as well as exploring other creative business pursuits in game design, videography, and drone photography. A search for a new Executive Director begins this month.
A new Board of Directors takes office in January to lead the organization in its mission to promote local heritage through education, preservation and advocacy. Officers include Kathy Blackwell, President; Nancy Sorensen, Vice-President; Lissa Kramer, Interim Treasurer; Sandie Wilkinson, Secretary; John Sweetland, Membership Secretary.
The society is pleased to have two new trustees: Carol Vincent, one of the founders of the Log House Museum, and Lissa Kramer, former Museum Curator. Dora-Faye Hendricks, Kerry Korsgaard, Burke Dykes, Marcy Johnsen, and Ken Workman continue as Trustees.
The SWSHS board is grateful to three departing board members: Karen Sisson, who served as President for 2 years; Ron Arant, Treasurer and technology guru for many years; and Jenni Bodnar, Trustee for 3 years.
SWSHS looks forward to the New Year that will include fresh emphasis on embracing the entire Duwamish Peninsula, highlighting its rich heritage and fascinating stories.
The next SWSHS event is this Thursday (January 10th), when the Words, Writers, West Seattle author series features our state’s Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, 6 pm at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW).
The crowd in our photo was at Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of 10 local schools that received special deliveries today of hatchery-harvested salmon eggs:
The eggs will be reared in tanks at the schools until spring, when the fry are released into Fauntleroy Creek. Making the rounds again this year on behalf of Salmon in the Schools are Judy Pickens (photo below) and Phil Sweetland (second photo below, with OLG teacher Sarah Nadalin):
At OLG, first- and sixth-graders are involved; the other schools scheduled to receive eggs today in Phil and Judy’s five-plus-hour delivery marathon were Pathfinder K-8, Louisa Boren STEM K-8, Westside School (WSB sponsor), and six elementaries: Alki, Sanislo, Highland Park, West Seattle, Gatewood, and Arbor Heights.
A new skirmish in the ongoing fight over the future of the West Seattle Junction Association‘s free-to-shoppers parking lots. We’ve reported on the WSJA’s donation-seeking efforts to help cover the cost of dramatically increased rent. Now the lots’ owners, the consortium known as West Seattle Trusteed Properties, have served WSJA with a notice saying the donation boxes put up at the lots in October violate the lease, and giving the merchants’ organization 10 days to remove them or “vacate” (as in, give up the lots).
The paperwork headed “10-Day Notice to Cure Lease Defaults or Vacate” was shown to WSB by Junction Association executive director Lora Radford. It alleges three violations – that soliciting donations equals charging for parking, and that the donation boxes and signage were put up without “prior written consent” of Trusteed Properties. Radford said WSJA consulted its attorney and does not believe the donation campaign is a lease violation. The association was planning to send a response letter to Trusteed Properties, whose secretary Tyler M. Johnson signed the notice, dated January 4th but received Monday. Radford says they will stress that they don’t believe the donation boxes are a violation, but will request retroactive permission anyway.
WSJA says its rent this year – due largely to a property-tax increase that’s passed through under lease terms – will be more than $245,000, almost triple what it was in 2016. Ten separate parcels owned by Trusteed Properties comprise the four lots (three on 44th SW, one on 42nd SW). For more backstory on the rent situation, see our coverage from last March.
First – Todd just found this bicycle in Riverview:
Second – A texter found this one on a trail in Roxhill Park “behind the ballfield”:
If you recognize either, please let us know and we’ll connect you with the finder. Also a note – another reader asked us to remind bicycle owners to register with Bike Index (it’s free) as another way of increasing the chance of a reunion if yours is ever taken.
11:59 AM: Thanks to Phil for the tip/photo. That crash on southbouhd 35th SW at SW Alaska might back things up for a bit. No SFD callout so far, so apparently no serious injuries.
12:26 PM: Now another crash of note – westbound West Seattle Bridge at the Delridge exit. This one DOES have an SFD dispatch.
It’s on the offramp itself, according to SDOT (traffic-cam framegrab added).
1 PM: SDOT says 35th/Alaska is clear.
1:07 PM: And now the Delridge offramp is, too.
(Rhinoceros Auklet, photographed by Matt Olson)
First busy night of 2019 – from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 6:30 pm at The Sanctuary @ Admiral, all welcome. Agenda items are in our calendar listing. (42nd SW/SW Lander)
COTTAGE GROVE COMMONS COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: 6:30 pm at Cottage Grove Commons (now open five years, as we recently noted), community members are invited to bring questions/concerns to this meeting of its community advisory committee. (5444 Delridge Way SW)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: This community group meets at 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House High Point, all welcome. (6400 Sylvan Way)
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm in the conference room at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, the FCA board meets, community members welcome. Agenda items are in our calendar listing. (9131 California SW)
FLY-TYING WORKSHOP: 7 pm at Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) – tonight, the Wiggle Minnow! The registration link is in our calendar listing. (4502 42nd SW)
LOOK INTO THE FUTURE … via our complete calendar!
The heart of winter is time for many families to get ready for summer, by signing up for camp. Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and Boom Studios LLC have just opened registration and are also offering a camp fair this weekend if you want to sign up in person:
Mode Music Studios and Boom Studios LLC are collaborating to bring you half day and full day summer camps in a variety of ways. Choose from music, theater, or dance camps alone or pair them with another half day to make it a full day of the arts! Enrollment is open starting January 7th at noon to the public. Take advantage of 10% off early enrollment from now until March 15th!
We are hosting a Boom and Mode Studios Summer Camp Fair Sunday, January 13th from 3-6:00 pm. Spin our prize wheel for the chance to win discounts on our full day camps! Performances from our Mode Music Studios students and Boom Dance Hip Hop Crew will be popping up through out the day. Snacks and crafts are available to the kids, as well as a glimpse into our new studio space and winter class signup.
We hope to see you there!
Visit any of our websites for summer camp signup and winter class information.
modemusicstudios.com
modemusicandperformingarts.org
boomstudiosllc.comWe can’t wait to start 2019 with a bang and secure your spots in our awesome summer camps this year!
Sunday’s fair is at 3801 Delridge Way SW.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:11 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit alerts in our area so far.
REMINDER: The Highway 99 closure starts 10 pm Friday (here’s the timeline).
7:50 AM: SDOT reports a “blocking bus” at 5th/Roxbury.
That’s Seattle Channel video of today’s City Council committee meeting resuming consideration of HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability upzoning. The meeting was a refresher of sorts, including an update on city staffers’ progress working on a historic-resources addendum to the HALA MHA Environmental Impact Statement, as ordered by the city Hearing Examiner. It’s expected to be completed by the end of the month, councilmembers were told. (Here’s the slide deck from that part of the briefing.) The briefing also looked at potential amendments to the HALA MHA housing – those are detailed in this memo, along with a different type of amendments – proposed changes to the city comprehensive plan.
Among the latter are neighborhood-planning-related proposals made by the Morgan Community Association two years ago. Speaking in the public-comment period at the end of today’s meeting were MoCA’s Cindi Barker and Deb Barker, who observed that it’s been frustrating to await their fate; “We could have had a really nice neighborhood planning process since then.”
Of note, West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who met last week with local neighborhood advocates about HALA MHA issues, wasn’t at today’s council meeting. She and at-large Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda were in New York City speaking to an organization that is upset about Amazon’s plan to locate part of its second headquarters there, Make the Road. That group paid for Herbold’s trip, according to her staffer Alex Clardy. In case you’re interested in what she said – the event’s host, New York’s Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, published this video; Herbold’s speech starts about 39 minutes in:
The event included New York politicians with whom Herbold was shown in photos on Twitter:
It was great to join @SeattleCouncil Members @Lisa_Herbold & @TeresaCMosqueda for RWDSU’s #AMZHQ2Brief. Their experiences fighting Amazon’s anti-union, anti-progressive tactics in Seattle should be a lesson for us all in NYC. Amazon must respect workers & our #LIC community. pic.twitter.com/q5E5d2hPP8
— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) January 7, 2019
Seattle City Council member Lisa Herbold shares how her city’s experience with @amazon HQ became the perfect model for this company to try to take over the world, “this company has to put in place a new model for accountability and better conditions for workers” #AMXHQ2Brief pic.twitter.com/fGFmC3WM2F
— NYCC (@nychange) January 7, 2019
Herbold and Mosqueda were not the only absences from today’s HALA meeting; also not there, Councilmembers Lorena González and Kshama Sawant. As Deb Barker detailed to the Southwest District Council last week (WSB coverage here), the council has a busy schedule of HALA-related meetings from hereon out – including Monday and Wednesday of next week (January 14 and 16) – with a final vote on the upzoning proposal expected in mid-March.
With crews resolving the last West Seattle outage of note from Sunday’s windstorm, Puget Ridge has power again and the main South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus will reopen tomorrow. That word is just in from SSC. One of Puget Ridge’s two triple-digit outages was fixed this morning, the other one this afternoon. Seattle City Light is now down to just over 50 customers out of power around its service area – it peaked at more than 50,000 after wind as high as 60 mph moved through early Sunday.
As of today, with days to go until the Highway 99 closure (starting at 10 pm Friday) kicks off the Seattle Squeeze, second bikeshare option is available in West Seattle. The fluorescent-red e-bikes of JUMP have started popping up, joining the green Lime bikes. We noticed them in several areas including Junction Plaza Park, where we photographed by the one above, shortly after JUMP’s parent company Uber sent the announcement that the local service area has expanded to add West Seattle. JUMP bikes have been available in some other parts of the city since November. The expansion announcement notes that “Seattle is one of the first cities to receive JUMP’s next generation bikes, which feature integrated cable locks and a QR code unlocking mechanism.” The company says it’s waiving its $1 unlock fees through February 15th, and that it also has a special price plan for lower-income riders. Today’s expansion also added South Seattle and parts of Queen Anne and Magnolia, Montlake, along with more of the University District. The entire city will be in the service area within “the coming months,” the announcement says.
4:41 PM: Thanks for the tips about the police response at Roxbury Safeway. King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Abbott says it started as a shoplifting incident and a suspect who was being sought hit a deputy with (updated) her car. Non-life-threatening injuries. More to come.
P.S. Those are TV helicopters.
4:59 PM: More info from KCSO: “1 female suspect in custody, another female suspect intentionally struck deputy with vehicle and fled at high rate of speed.” No description yet of the vehicle/suspect they’re seeking.
10:48 PM: Just in from KCSO, here’s who they are seeking:
The King County Sheriff’s Office has PC [probable cause] to Arrest KHALIA WIMBERLY for Assault 1 and Robbery 1. There is a temporary warrant in the system for Wimberly’s arrest.
The evening of 1/7/19, Wimberly, her boyfriend Davevion Irving, and another associate did a shoplift at the Safeway in White Center. Law Enforcement was called and arrived on scene as they were exiting the store being chased by loss prevention. Wimberly and Irving ran past a Deputy that was on foot and in full uniform, got into a black 1996 Lexus LS 4 door. Wimberly, now the driver of the Lexus, struck the Deputy head-on causing serious/ non-life threatening injuries. The associate was arrested on scene but Wimberly and Irving escaped.
There is NO PC or temporary warrant for Irving but he does have an active felony warrant and misdemeanor warrant for his arrest.
Wimberly and Irving are dating and said to be couch surfing, possibly in the Tacoma area.
Please call 911 if you know where either Wimberly or Irving is or the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206/296-3311.
11:12 PM: A little more information: First, we asked Sgt. Abbott a followup on how the deputy’s doing. Still in the hospital, but in stable condition. Regarding the suspects – Wimberly is 18 years old, 5’3,” 180 pounds, last known address in Top Hat; Irving is 19 years old, 5’10”, 150 pounds, last known address in Kent. The car’s plate is BJX9158.
The staff at West Seattle’s only Pizza Hut (6501 35th Ave. SW) confirms a tip we received over the weekend – it’s closing in two weeks. January 21st is the last day, we’re told. Why? That, we don’t know, and staff declined comment; we have an inquiry out to Pizza Hut corporate media relations. (No redevelopment proposals in the file; county records do show the property had a change in the owner of record last year, not a sale but an estate situation.) This is the latest change of several in the chain-pizza scene in West Seattle – a second Domino’s opened in South Admiral a year ago, not long after the lone West Seattle Papa John’s closed (that site is scheduled to be redeveloped into townhouses). After the 35th SW Pizza Hut closes, the nearest one will be in White Center.
As part of the preparation for the so-called Seattle Squeeze – starting with the upcoming Highway 99 closure and continuing through years – the city set up mailing lists for traffic alerts on certain “corridors,” as part of the creation of a new traffic-resource website, seattletraffic.org. When we covered the announcement two months ago, the only West Seattle corridor was for The Junction. Highland Park community advocate Michele Witzki contacted Councilmember Lisa Herbold suggesting this area needs more – and she got word from SDOT today that her request has led to the creation of two new “corridor” alerts – one for Westwood, and one for Georgetown. You can sign up for those and/or others by going here. You also can find the current corridor times, and predictions, on this page.
Three months after we reported that the Westwood Village Barnes & Noble would close this month, it’s in its final days. As the sign says, January 12th is its final day – the store staff tells us the hours on Saturday will be 9 am to 9 pm, and then it’s closed forever, after 13 years. No official word yet on the space’s future.
Seen that 24-foot Fleetwood Jamboree motorhome? It was stolen within the past few days from the 3700 block of 38th SW, with its owner’s house broken into at the same time. The plates are Washington ARF9265; SPD incident # 2019-007891. Call 911 if you see it.
Update from South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – the power is not back yet so the West Seattle campus will be closed all day, all classes canceled.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:02 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit alerts in our area so far.
Toplines:
-Back to school post-winter break
–South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) starts 10 am because of Puget Ridge power outage
–Washington State Ferries now on winter schedule
-Highway 99 closure starts 10 pm Friday (here’s the timeline)
7:10 AM: Not mentioned by SDOT yet but JayDee says there’s a crash on the eastbound high bridge just before Delridge.
8:41 AM: SSC has updated – closed all day.
Two notes about the aftermath of the windstorm that hit early this morning:
POWER-RESTORATION WORK CONTINUES: After almost 22 hours without electricity, hundreds on Harbor Avenue SW are back online as of about half an hour ago. They were working in two spots – California/Harbor (photo above) and across from the entrance to Jack Block Park – when we went through the area just after 10 pm. That was the biggest remaining pocket but hundreds are still out in eastern West Seattle, primarily parts of Puget Ridge, and as a result:
LATE START FOR SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE’S MAIN CAMPUS ON MONDAY: As announced tonight:
Due to a power outage, South Seattle College (West Seattle campus only) will have a delayed start until 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 7. All classes starting before 10 a.m. are cancelled.
Any other changes, cancellations, delays – please let us know so we can report them too.
MONDAY P.S. As reported here, the college is now closed all day.
Thanks to the proud parents who were first to share the news: The West Seattle High School Cheer Team has qualified for state competition for the first time ever. Head coach Jasmyne Agregado – who shared the photos and gave us permission to publish them – says the team got first place in both its divisions. She adds, “Not only is a qualification for State an amazing accomplishment in itself, but to make a great accomplishment even greater, our athletes are the second-highest-scoring team this year in our division!” That’s the Non-Tumbling Co-ed division, the coach explains.
The state competition is February 2nd in Battle Ground. 20 athletes are currently on the WSHS Cheer Team; this is the third year Agregado has led the team, and the second year for co-coach Nadine Nguyen.
Family and friends will gather next Saturday (January 12th) to remember James “Jim” Schultz. Here’s the announcement:
James was born April 4, 1950 in Seattle, passed away October 28, 2018.
He is survived by his wife Cindy, son Harley, stepsons John and Eric, Eric’s wife Robin, and grandchildren Justin, Draeven, Lydia, Charlotte, and Colton, as well as his brothers John, Norman and his wife Trina, Jeffrey, sister Virginia, nephews Anthony and Aaron, and niece Ashley. He will be greatly missed by His family and friends.
There is a celebration of life on January 12th, 2019, at the Eagles in White Center, 10452 15th Ave. SW, from 2 pm to 6 pm.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
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