West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
High Point Neighborhood Association president Andrew Mead shares a reminder for West Seattle families — you can find out about your options for local summer activities, jobs, and programs at a special event this Saturday: the Summer Youth Activities Fair, 10 am-1 pm at High Point Community Center. Here’s the official flyer (also printable for friends who might miss online announcements). Parents are welcome as well as kids and teens.
See the solar panels on the roof of this High Point duplex (on 30th west of Morgan)? During a media tour this morning, we learned about one unit in that duplex that’s involved in a pilot program — the only HP rental with solar hot-water heat, and today was a prime day to show it off:
It’s an “on-demand” water-heating system also linked into the 3-bedroom unit’s main heating system. During the media tour (also attended by two TV stations, one radio station, and the Daily Journal of Commerce and Voice newspapers), the Seattle Housing Authority showed off this unit — here’s some of what SHA’s HP manager Tom Phillips had to say:
The tour also peeked into a nearby “Breathe Easy” unit specially geared to help asthmatics or reduce the incidence of the disease – note there are no steps leading up to this home’s porch, one of the ways in which it’s built to assist those with difficulty breathing:
This morning’s tour was offered in advance of an event tonight, with dignitaries to include Mayor Nickels and County Council Chair Dow Constantine, 5-7 pm, celebrating the completion of phase two of High Point’s rental housing — 600 units, which SHA estimates are about 85% rented (work on the last few units is just finishing up now; 60 of the 600 are “Breathe Easy” units, by the way). You’re invited to tonight’s event – more info here.
FROM TUESDAY EVENING: Two photos from the evening event held at the duplex with the solar panels – here’s the mayor in the room with the water heater:
And here’s the crowd in the front yard, with the big tree that project managers say makes the site even greener, in a variety of ways:
That’s Sophia the Italian greyhound, aka the current CityDog Magazine cover dog, companion to Wendy and Stephen Hughes-Jelen. Wendy’s High Point K9 Club has a new mission = a second off-leash area for West Seattle (the only one right now is at Westcrest Park). She explains: “The High Point K9 Club is refocusing its mission to concentrate exclusively on the creation of an off-leash exercise area for dogs in the community. The meetup group that was founded in August of 2007 will be purging inactive members so that all current active participants in the off-leash area project are plugged in and receiving communications as we go through the steps of this large project. You do not have to live within the borders of the redeveloped High Point to participate or use the off-leash area. People and their social dogs living in the surrounding communities are welcome to join and participate in the creation process and use of the park after it is done. If you have always wanted to design and build a dog park, we need you!” Just sign up for the group by going here.
Also from the City Council meeting that’s under way now, 3 more items of West Seattle relevance: First, after hearing an explanation from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen regarding the significance of the Admiral Way/SW Manning parcel, the council just voted 7-1 (Richard McIver was the “no” vote) to approve the new plan to open a public discussion of the site’s fate. As first reported here earlier this month, the Parks Department is now willing to take over the site, which once was targeted for possible sale. We’ll let you know how to participate in the public discussion, once details of the process are outlined. Second, the council has just finalized appointments to the new committee that will oversee how the money’s spent from the Parks Levy approved last year; members from West Seattle are Neal Adams, Cindi Barker, and Pete Spalding. Third, councilmembers have approved rezoning for part of the High Point development (6800 31st SW is the official address) that Councilmember Sally Clark described as “correcting an oversight” from long-ago rezoning action. Details are in items 26 and 27 on the agenda.
It’s easy in the news business to just let stories drop after the initial report – tougher to remember to follow up, and then to find the followup information. But we do our best to keep checking back, and in that spirit, wanted to let you know what happened in a few notable collision cases — these can be the toughest to follow up on, since a major collision may require weeks or months for the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad to investigate and then for prosecutors to review before a citation or charge is filed. Here’s what happened in two cases — months old, but both cases eventually resulted in Municipal Court-handled citations that haven’t been reported before:
That photo is from last September 4th, when a 15-year-old girl was hit by an SUV while crossing 35th at Juneau in High Point (map). She was out of the hospital within two days, but the investigation and review took months; finally, Municipal Court online records show, the SUV’s 40-year-old driver was cited for passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.
Just a few weeks after the 35th/Juneau incident, we interviewed the motorcycle rider who survived being hit by a minivan in Westwood earlier in the year:
Karen Derby told us the story of her recovery in the months following the June 15, 2008, crash at 30th/Trenton (her story here; original crash report here). Municipal Court online records now show that, also after a long investigation, the 19-year-old driver was cited for running a stop sign.
We are still checking on a few other past cases, including the deadly crash at California/Dawson last fall that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale and, much more recently, two Junction collisions, including the one March 9 in which a pickup driver hit 13 other vehicles, and we’ll let you know when there’s something to report regarding the aftermath of those.
That’s Mayor Nickels, lending a hand this morning to a project that’s had tons of volunteer help — Habitat for Humanity‘s High Point project (here’s more information on what’s being built there). You can help too – here’s how.
1. The Parks Department sent out a roundup today of sports-signup highlights at their facilities around West Seattle; check it out here.
2. Just got a City Hall advisory that Hizzoner will be volunteering at the High Point Habitat for Humanity construction site tomorrow. Celebrityish help is nothing new on the project; we covered Seahawks wives helping out back in February.
In addition to the Conner project Design Review meeting, lots of notable events tonight. They’re all on the Events calendar — where you’ll find the full list — but here’s an extra shoutout for a few more:
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: The map/info link will be in the sidebar at right till the event’s over tonight, but if you missed it: 6-9 pm tonight, 40 venues all over West Seattle, and many offer treats and special deals for Art Walk-night visitors and shoppers. Artists highlighted here; printable venue map here.
PARKS BOARD IN WEST SEATTLE: The regular twice-monthly meeting of the Seattle Parks Board (whose chair and co-chair are both West Seattleites) is coming here tonight: West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse, 7 pm. The agenda includes two items of WS-specific interest — the city’s Golf Master Plan and the Seacrest dock renovations for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi (which starts its season April 5). Briefing papers are all linked from the Parks Board page.
SNAP AT WEST SEATTLE LIBRARY: Find out how to make sure your family and neighborhood are ready for anything. Seattle Neighbors Actively Prepare has a free how-to at West Seattle Library (Admiral) at 6:30 tonight.
GENEALOGY AT SOUTHWEST LIBRARY: A genealogy librarian is coming to Southwest Library at 5:30 tonight to show you how to use the Internet to find out more about your family history. It’s free but you have to call to register; number, and more info, all here.
HIGH POINT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY MEETING: 6 pm at Elizabeth House, 3201 SW Graham. The theme: “Doing more with less impact on the environment,” according to HPNA president Andrew Mead‘s meeting announcement on the HPNA site.
CHIEF SEALTH HIGH SCHOOL MULTICULTURAL NIGHT: Food, performances, silent auction, and more, all presented by the CSHS PTSA, 6 pm.
The Hoffmeister family of North Delridge is searching for Pogo, their Papillon, so relentlessly and creatively, they’ve already traced her trail … to a new dead end.
Of all the pets we’ve posted to the Lost/Found section of the WSB Pets page, Pogo’s odyssey is the most agonizing one since the theft and recovery of Butch the Shiba Inu three weeks ago (original WSB report here; followup here).
And according to what Betsy Hoffmeister and family have discovered since Pogo disappeared Friday night, Pogo and Butch seem to have something in common …Read More
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL 10:08 PM REPORT: WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is at the “fire in single-family residence” call at 30th SW/SW Bataan (a High Point street so new it’s not even on Google Maps, but we did find this). He says it’s a fairly sizable fire, lots of smoke visible, no flames. Photos and more info shortly.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
10:22 PM UPDATE: From Christopher at the scene: “Firefighters from several companies seem to have the blaze extinguished. The building that was on fire is unoccupied new construction. Firefighters seem to be taking down a ceiling on the first floor of the structure to expose the source of the fire.” He adds that the house that caught fire appears to have been close to completion, but not done yet, with stickers still on the windows. From the scanner — the incident commander is going to start clearing some units to leave the scene. Also, the online fire-call log has revised the address to 6423 30th SW (map). Christopher also confirms, nobody hurt. 10:50 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen has now released an update: First firefighters on the scene saw flames through the house’s windows; the fire was mostly concentrated on the second floor – still no word on the cause or the dollar amount of the damage, till investigators can get in and look around.
(photo by Tony Bradley)
11:50 PM UPDATE: In her latest media update, Vander Houwen says fire investigators have determined this was an accidental fire, caused by an electrical-wire problem. Damage is estimated at about $50,000.
Cold? What cold? More than 100 people gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe for tonight’s tree lighting. That’s Father Jack Walmsley leading the countdown and the blessing – reminding the crowd this date was chosen for a reason special to OLG – and that’s parish member and Channel 13 reporter Brian Callanan emceeing with Father Walmsley. Of course, caroling ensued:
And thanks to WSB’er Celeste, here’s a photo of the tree, post-lighting:
If you want to see the OLG tree, it’s atop the city’s highest hill (500-plus feet), 35th and Myrtle, east of the reservoir/water tower/future park site (map). Tomorrow and Sunday night, two more great chances for outdoor holiday caroling and celebrating, as the Christmas Ship and its miniflotilla visit West Seattle shorelines – see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for times and places.
Thanks to Denise Davis, who sent that photo with word her husband Duane Davis “is finally done” with elaborate holiday lighting that’s been a couple weeks in the making, unmissable from 46th and Genesee (map). Next photo’s courtesy of Wendy Hughes-Jelen, who spotted biker Santa at Hans’ VW Repair, 35th and Graham (map):
Got a photo? Or a Christmas-lights address you think we should go photograph? Please let us know – thanks!
Just posted on the new SPD Blotter site: A 17-year-old girl told police a 19-year-old “male acquaintance” had sexually assaulted her in his home in the 5900 block of High Point Drive SW (map) on Monday; she called police the next day, and they arrested the suspect for investigation of rape. (Reminder, the latest entries from SPD Blotter’s Southwest Precinct page are automatically posted on the WSB Crime Watch page.)
A follow-up to last week’s pedestrian-safety rally at 35th/Juneau in High Point (WSB coverage here and here): One of the organizers, Denise Sharify from Neighborhood House, got word from SDOT about results of extra police patrols on 35th that day (photo above) and the following two days: 30 tickets were issued during the 10/7 rally, and 61 more – 45 of them for speeding – on 10/8 and 10/9, by four officers working 35th between Willow and Juneau, with the top ticketed speed listed as 55 in a 35 zone. As the precinct has reminded us before, this is a regular spot for patrols, too.
Every little detail of the development process may not be your cup of tea; we chronicle it so the information’s there when you do want to find it (you never know when one of those big city signs might go up in your ‘hood). As you may know, for big projects in our city, the Design Review stage of the process is often the only time there’s a public meeting about a project (usually at least two) where you can show up and have a say. Each area of the city has its own board; the Southwest Design Review Board looks at West Seattle projects, usually the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, if there are projects requiring review (no meeting if there aren’t; this is usually decided several weeks in advance, and you can watch this page for word of upcoming meetings). Next SWDRB meeting is October 23rd at Madison Middle School, with 4106 Delridge reviewed at 6:30 pm, The Kenney‘s “reinvention” project (previous WSB coverage here and here) reviewed at 8 pm. Following up on the SWDRB’s last meeting this past Thursday, we have two things to report: first, details on a prominent board member’s hiatus; second, details on what led up to the decision to advance the 35th/Graham High Point project on to the next stage. Read on!Read More
(Originally posted at WSB backup site) Short version just so we can get you the headline while we deal with tonight’s technical trouble: The 35th/Graham mixed-use project (see the presentation here) is advancing out of “early design guidance” after its second EDG meeting, tonight at Hiawatha Community Center, but not without a whole lot of suggestions by Southwest Design Review Board members, who all but redesigned it during an extensive session that sent tonight’s meeting into overtime. Lots of public comment tonight, too, though it mostly focused on pedestrian concerns and hopes/dreams for the project’s retail spaces, remarks targeted more at the developers and managers who were in attendance than the design reviewers looking at the project’s looks. More later.
Lots happening today/tonight, per the WSB West Seattle Events calendar – here are two highlights: A record 43 venues all over West Seattle (here’s the map) are joining in tonight’s monthly WS Art Walk, 6-9 pm, listed here (participants include WSB sponsors Hotwire Coffee, Dream Dinners, M3 Bodyworks, Seattle Wellness Programs, Skylark Cafe & Club, and Click! Design That Fits, where as we mentioned Tuesday, you’ll find the photography of Karen Derby). Also tonight: The second Southwest Design Review Board public meeting for the 35th/Graham mixed-use project (presentation previewable online here), 6:30 pm, Hiawatha Community Center.
Want to help organize an “Eat Local Now!” dinner to raise awareness and $? Tonight, you are invited to join the first organizing meeting for what will be the first such dinner in West Seattle. Read on:Read More
Three hours after the safety rally at 35th/Juneau ended, a minor car accident tonight briefly blocked part of 35th at the exact same spot. No major injuries, and it cleared fairly quickly – police were pulling away as we pulled up, so the image at left is all we could get – but it underscored what neighbors like Lynda Bui told us at the rally — this is a spot with frequent problems, and they’re pretty sure they know why:
(VIDEO CLIP NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
The rally wasn’t just about that spot on 35th, but the speeding (and other) problems that have earned it the nickname “I-35.” Organizers chose this spot because it’s where a crash injured a High Point teenager last month. The city didn’t let today’s rally go unanswered. In fact, we got e-mail from SDOT communications director Rick Sheridan hours earlier, noting that city reps had met with organizers ahead of time and that the two groups “had a very positive discussion about making 35th Avenue SW a better corridor for all. As noted in our handout, drivers can help this effort by obeying the speed limit and being more aware of pedestrians.” More on that handout – a city-prepared document – plus organizers’ reaction and other followup, ahead:Read More
This Thursday night, the High Point mixed-use proposal at 35th/Graham — officially, 3420 SW Graham (map) — comes back before the Southwest Design Review Board, which voiced major concerns in August about the first design proposal and asked for a second round of “early design guidance.” Tonight, you can preview the presentation that will be given to the board on Thursday, because the city has posted it on the Design Review website (download the 43-page PDF here). Thursday’s meeting is at 6:30 pm at Hiawatha Community Center.
Not only were concerned residents out along 35th at Juneau for this afternoon’s rally — so were representatives of organizations including the High Point Neighborhood Association, Neighborhood House, Providence’s Elizabeth House, and Safe Futures, including these young participants:
A major city contingent was on hand too: SDOT reps including communications director Rick Sheridan, and Seattle Police including Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel:
A radar-wielding motorcycle officer was stationed on the west side of 35th as well:
On the east side, just north of the rally site, there was an SPD cruiser with radar-equipped speed readout on the east side. SDOT reps actually met with organizers including Neighborhood House’s Denise Sharify yesterday to talk about what has been done on the street and what they plan to do next, and Sharify tells WSB she’s “very optimistic.” We’ll post another report later with video as well as details of what the city says it will do. Meantime, you’ll likely see something about this on tonight’s TV news, as we counted at least three photojournalists at various times during the hourlong rally.
Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar (besides this of course being the night of Presidential Debate #2):
PEDESTRIAN-SAFETY RALLY: As first mentioned in this report, everyone concerned about safety on West Seattle streets is invited to join a rally 3-4 pm today at 35th/Juneau in High Point (map) – that’s the intersection where a 15-year-old girl was hit last month.
SCOUTING: Another local Cub Scout pack is signing up new members tonight – the sign-up meeting for Cub Scout Pack 799 is at 7 pm tonight, Arbor Heights Elementary lunchroom. Boys 1st-5th grade are invited.
DENNY/SEALTH PROJECT DEPARTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: As mentioned in our report from last night, this group is reviewing the request for zoning “departures” required by the Denny/Sealth combined-campus proposal – less parking, more height. The public’s invited to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm at the Denny cafeteria (more info here).
(WSB photo from 35th/Juneau crash scene, 9/4/08)
Just in from Denise Sharify, who works for Neighborhood House in High Point and has been active on area pedestrian issues: A pedestrian-safety rally is set for 2:30-4 pm October 7 at 35th/Juneau, where a High Point 15-year-old was hit and injured just a few weeks ago. Everyone concerned about pedestrian safety in our area – not just on 35th – is encouraged to join in; Denise’s note to community members also mentions the California/Dawson crash that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale yesterday and the 35th/Brandon crash that killed 39-year-old Gregory Hampel last month. More details on the rally when plans are further finalized.
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