WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Gunfire investigation
11:59 PM: Police are investigating gunfire near 47th/Charlestown. They’ve just told dispatch that they’ve found “a couple of shell casings.” No reports of any injuries, though. This happened in an area where gunfire has been investigated before, including twice in one week last October. According to what officers have told dispatchers, they’ve gotten various descriptions of possible vehicles involved – no description of the armed person(s) so far.
ADDED 3:43 PM TUESDAY: We’ve requested the full-report narrative but haven’t received it yet. Here’s the preliminary summary made public by SPD:
Neighbors in the 4700 block of SW Charlestown called to report shots fired from a vehicle after a loud argument. When officers arrived, they located evidence of a shooting in front of an apartment building in the area. A female in the building was contacted who reported a burglary and hinted that her boyfriend may have fired his weapon while confronting the suspects who were driving a Gold or Silver Subaru Forester with tinted windows. However, her story changed repeatedly, she admitted lying initially to officers, and her boyfriend had fled the scene in a White BMW prior to officers’ arrival.
CORONAVIRUS: 1,489 new cases in weekly Seattle Public Schools update; district responds to teachers’ safety requests
We were going to hold off on our entire weekly local pandemic roundup until tomorrow because of the holiday. Then we discovered that despite the holiday, Seattle Public Schools has posted its weekly dashboard update. (King County Public Health won’t have new numbers until tomorrow, so that’s when we’ll update the other local stats.) Districtwide, the cumulative SPS case total for this school year is now 3,590, 1,489 more than a week earlier. Here’s the local school-by-school breakout (as always, these totals also are cumulative):
Chief Sealth International High School – 77, up 44
Madison Middle School – 51, up 30
West Seattle High School – 44, up 5
West Seattle Elementary – 43, up 29
Arbor Heights Elementary – 40, up 18
Denny International Middle School – 40, up 8
Sanislo Elementary – 36, up 19
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – 32, up 9
Pathfinder K-8 – 31, up 14
Genesee Hill Elementary – 31, up 14
Concord International (Elementary) – 28, up 13
Roxhill Elementary – 28, up 13
Fairmount Park Elementary – 27, up 9
Gatewood Elementary – 25, up 6
Alki Elementary – 23, up 4
Lafayette Elementary – 20, up 9
Highland Park Elementary – 15, up 1
BRIDGES @ Roxhill – 2, up 1
No schools in West Seattle have gone fully remote, though some classes have – the district doesn’t publicly announce changes for part of a school’s population, but we were forwarded a letter indicating that some classes at Pathfinder K-8 are all-remote right now until next Monday at the earliest.
Also tonight, the district has just published on its website what it titles “Response to SEA” (the educators’ union Seattle Education Association), in response to a new list of union requests. Those requests are similar to what we published last Thursday night after the Friday sickout closure of Chief Sealth International High School was announced. The requests include providing high-quality masks to all students and staff; the district says it will start distributing those to staff tomorrow, and that they’re on order for students. But otherwise, the two sides remain apart.
REOPENING: Full Tilt Ice Cream reopens in White Center tomorrow, four months post-fire
(West Seattle Blog/White Center Now photos)
Four months after the fire that gutted the Locker Room Bar and Grill, one of the other White Center businesses affected is about to reopen: Full Tilt Ice Cream‘s flagship location at 9629 16th SW reopens tomorrow (Tuesday, January 18th). We stopped by this evening as they finished getting ready.
That wall is an example of what had to be fixed before Full Tilt could reopen – firefighters had to break through it while working to stop the September fire. And they’re two doors down from Locker Room; the damage was even worse at neighboring Huong Xua Deli and, on the other side of Locker Room, Bizzarro Italian Café. No updates on them yet (Bizzarro is still open in Wallingford). Full Tilt will reopen with a few new touches – like this Simpsons-themed pinball machine:
Hours will be the same as pre-fire – 3 to 8 pm.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen white Subaru Forester
Be on the lookout for Andrea‘s car:
Stolen from our garage last night:
License ANJ2559
2014 white Subaru Forester
With golden retriever decal on back
Stolen between 1am and 6am Monday the 17th on 36th Ave SW near SW Hanford.
If you see it, call 911.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Car broken into in park lot
Heads up if this afternoon’s sunshine has you planning on driving to a local park. Just sent by Franki:
We wanted to share that sometime from 11:40 to 12:40 this morning our car was broken into while we were strolling in Lincoln Park. We parked our car in upper parking lot along Fauntleroy. The right side window was smashed and my mom’s purse was stolen. We are a bit befuddled on how this happened because there were so many people around in the parking lot! Just remember to stay safe and don’t leave belongings visible in your car.
General advice is not to leave anything in your car, visible or not – thieves have been known to break in on spec.
MLK DAY OF SERVICE: West Seattle volunteers give the greenbelt some help
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has become MLK Day of Service for many, and in West Seattle, that included several environmental-restoration/cleanup projects today. We stopped by the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association Nature Team work site in Pigeon Point Park, part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt urban forest, adjacent to Pathfinder K-8.
This is a labor-intensive, long-running project to give the life-sustaining forest some help by beating back invasive plants. Removing blackberry growth was a focus for the nearly 30 volunteers who turned out today. In the spring, work parties will focus on planting – but at this time of year, the ground has to be cleared and readied to receive those new plants. DNDA has frequent volunteer opportunities for this area and other parts of the West Duwamish Greenbelt – check them out, and sign up if you’re interested, by going here.
ELECTION 2022: Ballots go out this week for Seattle Public Schools levies. Here’s what you’ll be voting on
This week, King County Elections sends out ballots for February 8th “special elections,” and this year that includes two levy renewals for Seattle Public Schools.
Proposition 1: Educational Programs & Operations Levy Renewal
This is a three-year $646 million levy (down from $814 million in 2019). The district explains it as “funding for day-to-day operations, staffing positions, academic programs and student opportunities that are not fully funded by the state.” One example cited by SPS is that state funding covers nine school nurses for the entire district; levy funding is used to employ 59 more (still only 68 nurses for a 110+-school district). The levy is expected to cost up to 75 cents per $1,000 property valuation per year, down from the $1.05 rate voters approved three years ago. You can see the full text here; see the official pro/con statements and other background here.
Proposition 2: Buildings, Technology, and Academics/Athletics Levy Renewal
This is a six-year $783 million levy, up from $475 million for the one approved in 2015. The district explains that this three-part levy covers everything from major building-maintenance projects to “strategic investments in technology” to athletic-field improvements. This levy starts at 47 cents per $1,000 property valuation and goes down to an estimated 37 cents in the final year (the 2016 version was estimated at 43 cents per $1,000). See the full text of the levy here; yes/no statements and other background is here. West Seattle schools and SPS facilities with projects on the district’s list include:
Nino Cantu SW Athletic Complex – replace softball-field turf and lighting
Hiawatha/West Seattle HS – new batting cages, shared cost of turf replacement
Gatewood Elementary – windows and fire alarm
Highland Park Elementary – playground improvements
Lafayette Elementary – stormwater systems and asphalt maintenance
Boren STEM K-8 – electrical system improvements, intercom/clock system replacement
Pathfinder K-8 – fire-alarm panel replacement
Madison MS – exterior cladding/window improvements
Interagency/Roxhill – fire and burglary alarm improvements
Schmitz Park (interim site) – door, fire-safety improvements
Both levies require a simple-majority vote to pass. KC Elections plans to send ballots on Wednesday; dropboxes open Thursday; deadline to return your ballot (or get it postmarked) is Tuesday, February 8th.
MLK Day of Service and other notes for your West Seattle Monday
Thanks to Noodle and crew for the photo from a West Seattle walk in the fog. Below, a few notes for this Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday Monday:
WHAT’S CLOSED
-Schools
–Libraries
–Most Seattle Parks facilities
-Banks
–Post Offices
As for what’s happening:
POP-UP CLEANUP: Other MLK Day of Service events in our area are full – volunteer capacities have long been restricted because of the pandemic – but you can grab a bag and go join the pop-up cleanup along Harbor Avenue SW, 10 am-noon, as previewed right after we got word of it last night.
BETTY WHITE CHALLENGE A reader asked us if any local animal-advocate groups was joining this nationwide fundraiser honoring what would have been Betty White‘s 100th birthday today. Furry Faces Foundation has decided to jump in:
We are proud to join Betty White’s Challenge! Please consider donating $5 in honor of Betty White…she still lives with all of us in our hearts and minds,
Thank you for your consideration. Donations may be made to our PayPal account – furryfaces@hotmail.com – or mailed to 3809 46th Ave SW, Seattle, 98116. For more information about Furry Faces Foundation, go here.
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