Arbor Heights 542 results

Another Arbor Heights scene: Westside School’s future home

While in Arbor Heights, we stopped by the future site of Westside School (WSB sponsor) for a look at the dramatic renovation scene at the former Hillcrest Presbyterian Church. The former sanctuary is basically hollowed out, as you can see, looking over the fence from 34th SW. Westside will spend one more year at its current campus, the former EC Hughes Elementary, leased from Seattle Public Schools, before moving to the new site. Westside’s 2013-2014 school year ended yesterday, and this past week, the school had its first middle-school graduation, having added 6th-8th grades over the past three years. Construction at the new site began just over a month ago.

P.S. We recently asked SPS to reconfirm what happens to Hughes once Westside moves; district spokesperson Teresa Wippel replied, “There are no plans at this point for EC Hughes other than to have it available for emergency use/to hold students when other schools are being remodeled, etc. No plans to lease it to anyone else, either.”

Happening now: Last carnival @ ‘old’ Arbor Heights Elementary

June 7, 2014 4:14 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening now: Last carnival @ ‘old’ Arbor Heights Elementary
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Until 6 pm, the community’s welcome to join Arbor Heights Elementary students, staff, families at the school carnival – autograph the soon-to-be-demolished building, especially if you’re an alum! Games, food, prizes too.

ADDED 5:30 PM: Thanks to our anonymous parent source for the top photo; we stopped by for these:

The “Angry Birds” toss is on the paved playground that’s seen better days – the new school will include an open field:

A tropical touch:

And a hand-lettered poster with a reminder about the next big event:

That’s Tuesday, 6-8 pm, a community gathering for an official farewell to the old school (though the last day of classes isn’t until June 19th).

New Arbor Heights Elementary: 2-phase construction; no size decision yet

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The new Arbor Heights Elementary School will be built in two phases, project managers told community members last night, and remains on track for welcoming students on the first day of school in September 2016.

Not that long ago, principal Christy Collins reminded the ~40 attendees as the meeting began, the new school wasn’t slated to open until 2019. She’s been principal for three years, and that’s how long the discussion about a replacement school has been under way.

Read More

Tonight’s calendar highlight: Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights CC

Thornton Creek did it – can Roxhill Bog do it too? That’s one of the neighborhood issues on the agenda for today’s featured calendar highlight, the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting. Live/work in any of those neighborhoods? Go check out WWRHAH at 6:15 pm, Southwest Branch Library (35th/Henderson). See the agenda in our calendar listing, and the calendar itself has many more events for today/tonight, including nightlife!

You’re invited: Farewell party for ‘old’ Arbor Heights Elementary

May 26, 2014 2:20 pm
|    Comments Off on You’re invited: Farewell party for ‘old’ Arbor Heights Elementary
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

In two weeks – 6-8 pm Tuesday, June 10th – alumni, staff and students past and present, neighbors, everyone’s invited to celebrate Arbor Heights Elementary before the demolition and reconstruction. Scroll through the official invitation:

(If you can’t read it in the window, see it as a PDF here.)

P.S. Before then, if you’re interested in an update on the plan for the new school, here’s our previously published announcement for the district’s June 2nd meeting.

New Arbor Heights Elementary: The appeal decision is in

No formal environmental review for the new Arbor Heights Elementary School project that’s replacing the crumbling original 65-year-old school. That’s what the district originally had decided, issuing a Determination of Non-Significance; more than two dozen neighbors appealed the decision, arguing their case at a May 8th hearing (WSB coverage here), and now the appeal ruling is in, starting with an introductory letter by Superintendent José Banda:

(If you can’t see the Scribd embed above, here’s the document as a PDF.) If you want to skip ahead, the conclusions of Margaret Klockars, the hearing examiner who handled the case, start on page 7, after a recap of what the district originally decided and the points that were argued. Bottom line: While Klockars agreed that the checklist leading to the original Determination of Non-Significance had a few errors and omissions, she believed the supplemental information provided later by the district showed no major impact in areas of concern from traffic to trees, so the DNS conclusion “was not erroneous.”

SIDE NOTE: As reported here last night, the district has set a community meeting June 2nd for questions/answers/updates on the project, which will start after the school year ends and everything is moved out of the to-be-demolished buildings. AHES will hold classes at the Boren Building for the next two years, with the new school expected to be ready for fall 2016.

New Arbor Heights Elementary: Community update meeting June 2nd

(Rendering of new Arbor Heights Elementary)
If you’re interested in the new Arbor Heights Elementary School, your next chance to get project updates, and to get questions answered in person, is less than two weeks away. Seattle Public Schools has announced a community meeting for Monday, June 2nd, 6:30-8 pm at the current AHES.

The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools BEX IV capital projects team and Bassetti Architects, and will include information about the project’s building and site design. You will be able to learn more about the project’s scope of work and construction schedule. You will be able to share comments and ask questions.

Meantime, we’re still awaiting word of a ruling on the appeal of the project’s no-formal-environmental-review-needed decision (here’s our coverage of the May 8th hearing).

No environmental review for new Arbor Heights Elementary? Neighbors’ concerns aired at appeal hearing

(Rendering of new Arbor Heights Elementary)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

They say they’re not trying to stop it from being built.

But neighbors and others concerned about the new, larger Arbor Heights Elementary School say something is missing from the plan: A full-scale environmental review.

So they appealed the ruling that the project doesn’t need that kind of review, and their appeal led to a hearing that lasted much of the day Thursday in a meeting room at Seattle Public Schools headquarters in SODO.

It brought some surprises – including last-minute district research exploring some of the points for which the challengers said an environmental review was needed before the new school is built on the site of the old one starting this summer.

Appeal hearings don’t result in instant decisions, so a written report will be forthcoming. But here’s how the hearing unfolded:

Read More

Update: Fire crews back at twice-burned house in 10000 block of 39th SW

11:40 AM: A sizable Seattle Fire response has headed back to the 10000 block of 39th SW, scene of two fires at one house in a little more than a week. (update) First crew on scene says “no fire, just smoke” – so they’re putting water on it.

11:52 AM: Our crew on scene says the smoke is mostly coming from the back of the house (added, photo showing new fencing in back):

No flames seen so far, as noted previously.

12:09 PM: For reference – the first fire was on April 29th; second one, early Monday morning. The cause of the first one has yet to be determined; one of the home’s two residents, both said to be in their 70s, was still in the hospital at last report.

4:42 PM: As AG notes in comments, SFD announced this afternoon that overheated wiring caused the original fire on April 29th and that “residual embers” were to blame for the flareups today and two days ago.

Video: Second fire in one week at Arbor Heights house

5:22 AM: Fire crews are back at the house in the 10000 block of 39th SW in Arbor Heights (map) that caught fire last Tuesday.

5:34 AM: The fire is reported to be under control, per scanner traffic. Just added video from neighbor John (who also called to tip us about the fire – thank you). The cause of last week’s fire had yet to be determined, as of our most recent check with SFD last Friday.

5:53 AM: Added that photo from our crew on scene. SFD says no injuries, since house was vacant.

6:03 AM: Metro says the northbound Route 21-EX is rerouting off SW 100th because of this, between 37th SW and 40th SW – use stops “east of 37th or west of 40th,” per text. Meantime, SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl has just provided an on-scene media briefing. She confirms that they still hadn’t finished investigating last week’s fire – one of the home’s two residents is still in the hospital. A crew will stay on scene here through the day on “fire watch” (as had been done last week).

6:44 AM: The bus reroute is over. Most fire vehicles have been dismissed from the scene. (Added: Our video of Lt. Stangl’s briefing, in which she discusses the possibility it “rekindled.”)

Construction starts tomorrow at Westside School’s new home

(First two photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Before construction starts tomorrow at the new Arbor Heights location of Westside School (WSB sponsor), its students have joined in a unique groundbreaking ceremony.

They traveled to the site at 10400 34th SW – formerly Hillcrest Presbyterian Church – on Tuesday afternoon to tour and celebrate.

It was a field trip, and yet it was also “heading home,” the theme for the year ahead, according to Westside’s head of school Kate Mulligan, who notes it was also the inscription on commemorative T-shirts:

(Photo courtesy Westside School)
The theme honors the fact that the ~330 students and ~60 staff members of Westside will finally have a permanent home.

Read More

Arbor Heights fire followup: Cause ‘undetermined,’ for now

(Photos taken this morning by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
New information about last night’s house fire in the 10000 block of 39th SW in Arbor Heights (WSB as-it-happened coverage here): Its cause is currently listed as “undetermined,” but Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore tells WSB that could change: They haven’t been able to speak yet with the two residents, both in their 70s, who remain hospitalized, and it’s still not safe for investigators to go in and look for evidence of how it started.

You can see why, looking at our photos from a trip back to the scene this morning, with smoke still rising from the house:

As we reported last night, the house is considered to be a total loss; this morning, SFD estimates the damage at $350,000 for the house, $100,000 for the contents.

The fire was first reported around 7:40 pm; SFD says it was under control about half an hour after its crews started arriving.

Video: House destroyed by fire in Arbor Heights; 2 people hurt

(WED. AM UPDATE: Fire guts Arbor Heights home, 2 residents hurt, cause not yet known, scroll to see new photo)

(Photo courtesy Tim Eannarino)
FIRST REPORT, 7:49 PM: Fire crews have rushed to the 10000 block of 39th SW for a house-fire call. More as we get it.

(Photo by Tony Bradley)
7:54 PM: The callout keeps getting bigger. Smoke visible for a ways around.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand, substituted for earlier cameraphone pic)
Scanner traffic says the fire started in the basement and that there is a vehicle on fire at the site.

(Photo courtesy Christi Stapleton)
7:58 PM: Our crew just arrived on scene. Paramedics are treating one person. Black smoke continues pouring from the home. Flames are visible too.

(Added: WSB video, including the moment when fire broke through the roof)
It’s being described on the scanner as a “defensive” firefight.

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
8:11 PM: The fire continues to intensify. Neighbors are tweeting – thanks to Colby for this photo:

8:20 PM: Two neighboring homes are at risk, according to SFD via Twitter, also confirming that two people are being treated by medics at the scene.

(Photo by Kevin McClintic)
The fire is “tapped,” our crew at the scene reports, which is one milestone toward getting it under control. The SFD public-info officer is there so we and other media will be able to get comprehensive info in addition to what we’re seeing and hearing firsthand.

(Photo courtesy Christi Stapleton)
8:29 PM UPDATE: We just talked with SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore, who says water pressure was NOT a problem, but Seattle Public Utilities did increase the pressure to help with the firefight (we heard that mentioned on the scanner, too). [Added – editor’s note: Those questions stem from a problem with hydrants in Arbor Heights that hampered the fight against a big house fire in 2011. There have since been major upgrades.) He says the two people are still being treated. No idea yet how this started. Moore also says two neighboring homes were evacuated because of danger the fire might spread, and everybody got out OK.

(This photo and next one by Tony Bradley)
8:47 PM: Continuing to add photos – thanks to everyone who has shared theirs – and will be adding ours too as the crew processes them back at base, including video of Moore’s briefing.

9 PM: Sounds like firefighters will be able to go inside. (added) Neighbor Christi says crews are trying to make sure it’s safe for neighbors to go back into their undamaged homes.

9:23 PM: Added – video of Moore’s briefing, including more details on the two people who were inside the house and were being treated for burns/smoke inhalation. We also added, higher up in the story, video showing the flames erupting through the roof following the dark smoke that could at one point be seen from some distance away.

9:50 PM: Earlier we had mentioned a vehicle – above, a photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli. We’re going back over to check on where things stand now. SFD’s Moore tweeted a few minutes ago that the man and woman who were hurt are in their 70s; both suffered smoke inhalation; both were taken to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition; the man also suffered burns. The house was ruled a total loss; the fire’s cause is still under investigation.

10:36 PM: Firefighters are still on scene; light smoke is still rising from the house. They tell us it’s not safe for the investigator to go in yet, so what caused the fire likely won’t be known any sooner than tomorrow. Since both residents of the house were taken to the hospital, there’s no Red Cross or other relief agency on scene.

1:10 AM: Another photo from neighbor Christi – Engine 30, on fire watch. With major fires like this, there’s usually an engine on scene (they rotate) for many hours afterward, just in case of a flareup.

10:12 AM WEDNESDAY: Still no word of the cause but firefighters remain at the scene; the house is still smoldering, and they have been continuing to work to ventilate it:

When there is word of the cause, we’ll publish a new story.

West Seattle schools: Arbor Heights Elementary celebrates writing

Thanks to the Arbor Heights Elementary School parent who shared the photo from today’s Young Authors Day, an annual celebration of students’ work writing, editing, and publishing work (by reading it aloud in a small group – each group has students from kindergarten through 5th grade). After the small-group readings, there’s an all-school autograph recess, during which our tipster photographed teacher David Wilkie, with young fans clustered around.

ARBOR HEIGHTS SIDE NOTE: Principal Christy Collins and K-5 STEM principal Dr. Shannon McKinney have sent families an update about the status of planning for the schools’ co-location starting next year (AH will be at Boren for two years while its new campus is built) – you can read it online here.

Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights CC: ‘Wall of buses’ progress; SPD briefing; more

Busy agenda at last night’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council (WWRHAH) meeting – police, transit, and more.

TRANSIT HUB UPDATE/WESTWOOD SAFETY: More progress in a longrunning major issue for WWRHAH – chair Amanda Kay Helmick says Metro is going to make small adjustments to the “wall of buses” stop along the south side of Barton (WSB photo, above, from coverage of December WWRHAH walking tour). First, the 21: Instead of being outbound from 26th/Barton, they’re going to move up to layover and leave from 35th/Roxbury. Helmick said 3-6 pm was the prime time for the “wall.” Helmick said she toured Westwood Village with an SDOT rep who said the 30th/Barton crosswalks would be reinstalled/repainted, as will those at 35th/Henderson, by the library, and 25th/Henderson on the east side of Westwood Village. They also plan crosswalk studies at 25th/Trenton and 29th/Barton. The 26th/Barton RapidRide stop will not get a 3-way stop, she added, but some sort of visibility signage is being evaluated. The bus zone was pushed back as promised, Helmick said, but she thinks it would benefit from a little more distance. Meantime, what if a transit hub were created IN Westwood Village – on the northwest side by the post office? WWRHAH wondered. One attendee brought up the problematic area near McDonald’s on the south side; Helmick said she’s heard that the McDonald’s is going to be remodeled and that will address some of the challenges. She said later that WWRHAH is also wondering if maybe Westwood Village should be included in the pedestrian-retail zone review that is under way at the city level right now.

Read More

Congratulations! Arbor Heights Elementary’s Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas make the finals

The semifinals of the Seattle Public Library‘s Global Reading Challenge are under way downtown – and we have our first word of a West Seattle team making it to the GRC’s finals: SPL’s Mary Palmer tells us the Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas from Arbor Heights Elementary did well enough today to advance to the March 18th final. One more West Seattle team has yet to have its semifinal round – that’s Roxhill, tomorrow.

Speaking of schools: Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas win Global Reading Challenge at Arbor Heights Elementary

(Pre-competition: The Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas! Clockwise from lower left: Mackenzie; Brynn; Hydia; Sandy; Mila; Zack; Abdi)
It’s Global Reading Challenge time again! The Seattle Public Library/Seattle Public Schools citywide competition is in its on-campus rounds, and our parent correspondent at Arbor Heights Elementary – one of nine local elementaries listed as competing this year – shared the report and photo of how Wednesday afternoon’s on-campus competition went for AH’s teams:

It was a nail-biter!

Ten books.
Ten teams of 4th and 5th graders.
An afternoon of questions, teamwork, and answers.

Several rounds of questions, finally ending with a very rare 3-way tie: on to a lightning round!

Astoundingly, these three teams went a whopping SIX lightning rounds before one team finally emerged victorious: The Super Ultimate Nerdy Ninjas! They will go on to the semi-finals at the Central Library; from there, one team will advance to the City Final on March 18th.

Here’s the list of books that are being used this year. Along with Arbor Heights, Alki, Concord, Gatewood, Highland Park, Lafayette, Roxhill, Sanislo, and West Seattle are on the competition list. Your school on that list? Let us know how the GRC is going! – editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.

Bus progress, bog bureaucracy, and more @ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council

Progress toward a safer Westwood “transit hub” was one of the updates at Tuesday night’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting.

(WSB photo, December 2013)
BUS UPDATE: WWRHAH chair Amanda Kay Helmick said she’s “pleased they’re listening to us” – “they” meaning some of the agencies that participated in the walking tour of the Westwood Village/Roxhill Park “transit hub” back on December 30th (WSB coverage here). The first progress comes in the area shown in our photo above – 25th SW along the east side of the shopping center, where, Helmick says, she’s been told some layover zones will be moved. The Sound Transit 560, for example, will move further south next month, closer to the southeast corner of Westwood Village, for a little more distance between it and the driveway shown above. But there’s no word of a change yet for the “Wall of Buses” created by layover zones on Barton, alongside Roxhill Park; Metro said it needed a little more time to figure out if there’s anything they can do, Helmick said. But there will be a 70-foot no-parking zone by the crosswalk – “it’s not going to stop the stacking” but it’ll definitely give everyone a little more space, for starters, she said.

Speaking of Roxhill Park, it was the focus of two other items:

Read More

New Arbor Heights Elementary: Meeting set to consider zoning exceptions

(Rendering from Bassetti Architects‘ 8/2013 presentation of new Arbor Heights design)
Only one West Seattle item in today’s edition of the city’s Land Use Information Bulletin: The first meeting of the “Development Standards Departure Advisory Committee” for the Arbor Heights Elementary rebuild. To translate – this is the advisory committee that will consider whether to recommend approval of zoning exceptions for the project. As spelled out in the official meeting notice, “the School District is requesting modifications for greater than allowed height, less than required parking, and on-site bus loading” – also mentioned when committee recruitment was announced in October. Here’s our report on the design presentation last August. All are welcome at the committee’s meeting, 6:30 pm Tuesday, February 18th, in the library at AHES (37th SW/SW 104th).

Update: Heavy-rescue response in Arbor Heights

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
8:16 PM: Fire and police are on the way to a “heavy rescue” incident at California/SW 106th. More as we get it.

8:47 PM: One-car crash; a man drove into a rock wall.

He was not seriously injured but was being given a field-sobriety test while our crews were there, and was handcuffed and taken into custody after that.

11:03 PM: Updating the location to California/107th, rather than 106th as dispatched. Christopher pointed this out but we had failed to note it here until commenter Gordon mentioned it.

Update: Fire call at 35th/Roxbury apartment building

(WSB reader photo)
2:18 PM: Big Seattle Fire response en route to the 3400 block of SW Roxbury. More to come.

2:24 PM: 35th is closed south of Roxbury. This is believed to be a chimney fire.

2:40 PM: Adding photo. SFD confirmed to us at the scene that it was a chimney problem; no injuries, no evacuation required. Most of the units assigned to the call have been canceled, though Ladder 11 is still on site, with crews on the roof investigating.

2:44 PM: Ladder 11 has finished its investigation -“no heat signature” over any of the fireplaces, so it’s wrapping up at the scene too.

2:57 PM: The road’s reopening; Metro has texted that bus service is returning to its normal route.

West Seattle road work: ‘Microsurfacing’ for Arbor Heights, Fauntleroy

(Click image to see full-size map)
Residential streets in Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy will get a bit of a facelift this summer – with a process called microsurfacing that SDOT is using instead of chip seal. The map above shows the general project area, but that does NOT mean every block of every street will get this treatment. But some preparation work is starting now:

To prepare the streets for microsurfacing, SDOT crews will make minor repairs such as filling potholes, depressions and cracks. Locations identified as candidates for such repairs may be marked with white paint.

Trees and vegetation will be trimmed as necessary to allow the microsurfacing crews to complete their work.

The project area is divided into five sections. The northeast section will be prepared first, and SDOT will prepare each section before moving onto the next.

The prep work will begin as early as January as weather permits and may continue into the summer. This work is expected to occur intermittently as SDOT deploys crews for this project and for other maintenance projects throughout the city.

Full details about the project are here, including contact info at the end of that page if you have questions.

First community-council meeting of 2014: WWRHAH, tomorrow

(WSB photo from December 30th, alongside ‘Wall of Buses’ by Roxhill Park)
Eight days after leading a tour of the Westwood Village “transit hub” and its challenges (WSB coverage here), a followup discussion will be part of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council (WWRHAH) meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) night, 6:15 pm at Southwest Branch Library. Here’s the agenda just sent by chair Amanda Kay Helmick:

6:15-6:20: Introductions & Community News:
6:20-6:25: Review Bylaws
6:25-6:35: Infrastructure Committee Update: Update from Committee Leader, Chris Stripinis.
6:35-6:50: Metro & Stakeholders December 30th Walk Update: With Amanda Kay Helmick, and Joe Szilagyi
6:50-7:40: Roxhill Park Updates: Updates on efforts to clean up the park; Rehydrating the bog; lighting; Grants
7:40-7:45: Wrap Up: Breakdown the room; library locks up promptly at 8 pm.

The library is at 35th/Henderson; all are welcome.