West Seattle, Washington
01 Tuesday
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:20 AM: Police have closed northbound 16th SW at Brandon while investigating what was initially described via radio communication as a robbery or carjacking attempt. The would-be robbers are reported to have fired into the air as they fled; police found at least one shell casing in the street. A K-9 team is helping search right now. No further details but we’ll follow up.
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: We obtained the police report; this was classified as an armed robbery. The three victims told police they had been parked on 16th SW when the robbers walked up to the passenger side of the car and said, “This is a robbery, give us all your s–t! Get out of the car!”P Police say the victims thought that the two robbers – who appeared to be juveniles – were joking until one pulled out a handgun and pointed it at them. The robbers then grabbed a victim’s backpack. The unarmed robber jumped into the car at one point. Eventually after a struggle over the backpack, the two robbers ran away. The one with the gun fired a shot in the air first; nobody was hit. Police searched but didn’t find them.
Perfect night on Puget Ridge! This was the second of four Monday nights for the relocated Music Under the Stars events at the Seattle Chinese Garden on the north side of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. The grassy space north of the garden’s iconic courtyard proved to be a perfect setting for the live half-hour recital preceding the broadcast audio from the Seattle Chamber Music Society‘s Benaroya Hall concert. The recital is performed by student musicians, tonight an excellent quartet from the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra:
We recorded them performing Haydn‘s String Quartet #1, Opus 77. They were scheduled to return during the broadcast intermission with a Schubert piece. Admission is free and you are welcome to bring family, friends, neighbors, a picnic dinner, and stay for as little or as much of the event as you want. You have two more chances, July 15 and 22, mini-recital at 7:30 pm, live broadcast at 8. This map of the SSC campus shows where to find the garden.
SIDE NOTE – MORE SUMMER OUTDOOR MUSIC: This weekend (Friday through Sunday), West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction; one week from tomorrow, the West Seattle Big Band Concert in the Park (7 pm July 16th, east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center); six Thursday nights starting July 18th (6:30 pm), Summer Concerts at Hiawatha. And more – watch our calendar!
A 36-year-old man remains in the King County Jail this afternoon after an arrest on Puget Ridge early this morning. From SPD Blotter:
Southwest Precinct officers responded to a report of an attempted burglary in the Puget Ridge neighborhood early Monday morning. After checking the home, officers located a possible suspect one block away carrying a loaded shotgun.
At approximately 5:00 am, officers were checking the area after responding to the home in the 1800 block of SW Dawson Street for a report of an attempted burglary.
During the area check, an officer located a possible suspect one block away, carrying a shotgun. Police arrested the 36-year-old man, who is a convicted felon and unable to legally possess firearms. Officers booked him into the King County Jail on felony charges of burglary and unlawful possession of a firearm. Detectives will handle the follow-up investigation.
The jail register indicates the suspect spent a month in jail last year on a probation violation related to a 2014 assault case. That case, records show, involved domestic violence against his then-girlfriend and their baby at their residence in southeast West Seattle. Court documents say he also has a lengthy record involving nine other felonies and six misdemeanors.
(WSB photo, July 2018)
One week from tonight, the Seattle Chamber Music Society‘s “Music Under the Stars” series of free outdoor events returns to West Seattle for a third summer. This year, though, a new location, as SCMS spokesperson Alexander Hawker explains:
Music Under the Stars is a free community event that takes place in parks throughout Seattle. It features classical chamber music performances and live broadcasts of our concerts in Benaroya Hall. It is family friendly, and a great opportunity to bring a picnic, enjoy beautiful Seattle weather, and listen to some great chamber music.
In previous years we have held the West Seattle events at Delridge Playfield. We had an exciting opportunity this year to partner with the Chinese Garden so we are moving from Delridge Playfield to the new location at Seattle Chinese Garden for these performances.
The details for the event are the same as previous years, with the exception of the change in location. Music Under the Stars in West Seattle takes place on the first four Monday evenings in July, beginning July 1st at 7:30 pm, and takes place in Seattle Chinese Garden. The event begins with a live student performance of classical chamber music, which is followed by an HD radio broadcast of chamber music from Benaroya Hall.
The Chinese Garden is on the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus on Puget Ridge, 6000 16th SW.
Sanislo Elementary PTA invites you to the first-ever Rainbow Party on the Playground tomorrow in celebration of Pride Month. “It’s free and open to ALL!” says PTA president Ebony Lee, sharing this announcement:
We’re excited to get the party started w/local celebrity, DJ MZ ARTIZ from the historical Seattle Re-bar, and encourage everyone to dawn their Pride colors to join us in parading around the playground for what we like to dub as a mini-Pride parade. We’d like to start having everyone parade around the playground starting at 5:30pm-ish. Bring a blanket, chairs or just find a comfy spot on the grass and let’s PARTY!
We’ll have donation-collection containers should anyone be inclined to help us raise funds toward our Race & Equity and Diversity & Inclusion PTA initiatives, which includes bringing in speakers, holding workshops, professional development, and adding anti-bias library materials along the subject matters of RACE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION to empower our students, their families, and our community.
We are still looking for acoustic musical/entertainment performers and LGBTQ agencies whom are willing to donate their talent, time, and information on the playground to entertain our families, friends, neighbors, et. al. Please contact Ebony Lee or Janay Destello at pta@sanislo.org if you can help.
Sanislo is on Puget Ridge, at 1812 SW Myrtle.
Thanks to Judy Bentley for sending the photos and report on another of Saturday’s remarkable West Seattle events:
More than 90 people of all ages walked native land yesterday from ridge to river on National Trails Day in the West Duwamish Greenbelt.
Ken Workman, a descendant of Chief Seattle, described his personal experience growing up on Puget Ridge and the Duwamish experience of the land on the ridge and along the Duwamish River.
The hike left South Seattle College and followed an unimproved trail down to the Duwamish Longhouse on West Marginal Way and back up. In the last few blocks, hikers had to walk the parking strip along the busy truck-way because sidewalks are intermittent.
The hike, sponsored by the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group, highlighted the vision of a ridge to river trail, connecting landscapes nurturing human life for thousands of years.
For more information about the Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group, consult our website at www.wdgtrails.com
Midway through this three-day weekend, here’s something coming up next weekend that you might want to plan ahead to be part of: The monthly West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails guided hike on June 1st offers the chance to “Walk Native Land” with someone who knows all about it. The announcement:
Celebrate National Trails Day in our West Duwamish Greenbelt!
“Walk Native Land” with Ken Workman, a descendant of Chief Seattle and a member of the Duwamish Tribe. Ken will talk about his personal experience growing up in the greenbelt and his tribe’s use of the land and nearby Duwamish River.
The hike begins at 10 a.m. near the Seattle Chinese Garden at South Seattle College. We’ll walk down Puget Ridge to the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center and return. This hike is on unimproved trail with aspirations to be a connector between ridge and river, about two miles round-trip with 200 feet of elevation gain coming back. Wear good shoes or boots and be prepared for small obstacles like logs, brush, and walking near the edge of West Marginal Way.
South Seattle College is at 6000 16th Ave. SW (bus route 125). Enter at the north entrance and we will meet near the first building on your left. Parking is on 16th Ave. SW or at the arboretum and garden center at the college.
This walk is sponsored by West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails. Please join us for greenbelt walks scheduled on the first Saturday of each month until October!
Those are also featured in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar.
Sanislo Elementary‘s annual auction is a little over a week away. Sanislo is a small school that is hoping for wide support to help its students. From PTA president Ebony Lee:
We are asking our local community, West Seattlelites, to PLEASE purchase tickets to our annual auction happening Saturday, June 1st. $40/pp for dinner (catered by Drunky Two Shoes BBQ White Center), dancing, live entertainment and an excuse to dress up ’80s is PRICELESS & a really cheap date night! ALCOHOL will be available for purchase so the event is 21 yo +. Please help us raise funds to update the school’s VERY OUTDATED library. Sanislo Elementary School is a very diverse “Small school with Big ideas” and Title I (about 60% of the student population is eligible for free/reduce lunch, 10% of whom experience homelessness). Sanislo is located within the Puget Ridge community near South Seattle College. Thank you for the support!
You can get your ticket(s) here.
Set your calendar for June 1 – when you can enjoy a night out knowing you’re doing something important in addition to having fun! From Amanda Kirk on behalf of the Sanislo Elementary PTA:
We are a small local school located in the Puget Ridge neighborhood of West Seattle. This year the auction is going to be at The Brockey Center at South Seattle College on June 1st, 2019 at 6 pm. Admission to the auction is $40 per person and we hope you consider joining us.
Sanislo Elementary School is building a network of dedicated individuals from throughout our community whose support and passion helps increase the chances of success for our children. Last year at Sanislo, while we had a goal of raising just $20,000, we ended up exceeding this goal by 50%. We raised $30,000 thanks to all of your donations to Sanislo! The school used this money to support: mindfulness/social emotional learning, a learning garden, and scholarships for after-school enrichment programs.
This year our need is even greater. I interviewed key stakeholders including the Principal in order to determine what aspect of the school was in greatest need of support. One of the largest challenges the school is facing is the increasing age of the books and other instruction materials. Our children are struggling to experience the joy of learning and self discovery partially because the average age of their books is more than 10 years old! Our library has become out of touch with reality and the children are not as motivated to participate in self-guided learning as children at other schools. Help us bring the joy of learning to our children.
Our annual auction is coming up soon! We hope you can join us once again in supporting educational equity. Come enjoy an evening of fun with us: dinner, dancing, drinks, silent auction, and dancing
The ’80s Are Back
Saturday, June 1st, 6-10 pm
The Brockey Center at South Seattle College
6000 16th Avenue SW
Direct link for buying tickets is here!
(WSB photos)
60 percent of our state’s college students, 40 percent of the funding. That’s one rallying point as educators and students fight for more funding of the state’s Community and Technical Colleges, including South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge, where an all-day awareness/advocacy event continues until about 3 pm at the Clock Tower Plaza. Participants have numerous options for sending messages to Olympia, where a bill to “Reinvest in Our Colleges” got stuck in committee:
Other messages are on display in signage reflecting SSC’s multicultural, multilingual student body:
Among the educators we found at the plaza, SSC president Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap:
Dealing with the budget was a major challenge she listed when we talked with her as her presidency began last fall. Meantime, the background for today’s event and others around the state is here.
You’ve heard a lot in recent years about K-12 education funding. You haven’t heard as much about postsecondary-education funding. In particular, community and technical college staffers say they’re “frustrated with legislative inaction” and planning a “week of action.” That will include a rally on the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, near the clock tower at midday Tuesday. That’s one of three “walkout” rallies planned on all three Seattle Colleges campuses by AFT Local 1789, in addition to events including informational picketing at other college campuses around the state. From the announcement:
“We have been advocating all session for a robust investment in the community and technical colleges. Everyone recognizes the value the CTCs bring to individual lives, employers, and the economy,” said Karen Strickland, president of AFT Washington. “What has yet to be taken seriously is the dire need to support the human infrastructure that makes our colleges hum – the people who process financial aid, teach in the classroom, clean the buildings, provide counseling and more – and to make sure students succeed. The economy is strong and the need is great – now is the time to [Re]Invest in Our Colleges!”
At the start of the session, AFT Washington introduced a funding bill, HB 1300, that called for $500 million in permanent funding in the CTCs. That bill did not make it out of committee, but the need for increased funding remains, and faculty and staff are tired of being passed over by the legislature.
The goal of the Week of Action is to send a clear message to legislators: CTC faculty and staff are frustrated with the decade-plus of inaction on investment in the CTCs, and want legislators, as they finalize the budget for the 2019-2021 biennium, to invest in the Community and Technical Colleges.
The SSC organizer says 34th District legislators are “on board” but could still use messages of support as they work to convince their colleagues. Info on how to reach your legislators – about this issue or anything else – is here.
(File photo – trail in Puget Park)
Sunny and warm-ish weather is forecast for tomorrow. Here’s a great way to start your Sunday! The announcement was sent by Colin:
Come join us to improve the Puget Park trail, this Sunday, March 17th from 9-noon.
Community support is needed to continue Puget Park trail improvements. Several neighbors have come together to lead this Puget Ridge family-friendly community event. Please stop by and give whatever time you have, every little bits helps, even just swing by to say “thank you”. Our presence and participation at this event demonstrates to Seattle Parks that we care and appreciate improvements they are making to the parks in our neighborhood.
We plan to have a series of trails project throughout the spring and summer. Below is our work party calendar.
March 17th Spring kickoff
April 7th Volunteer days
May 5th Join hands day
June 1st National trail day This one is on Saturday
June 23rd Seattle work day
August 18th
September 15th
October 6th Fall Planting Party
Meet the group at the park entrance, 19th/Dawson.
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.
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.
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.
(WSB photos)
West Seattle’s biggest party venue was a wonderland of Christmas fun for four hours today. Sea Mar Community Health Centers hosted hundreds of kids and their families at its King County holiday party in the Brockey Center at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge. Each child got three presents – and a chance to meet Santa and friends:
The party also offered craft activities, food, and entertainment:
Sea Mar is headquartered in South Park and runs almost 100 clinics in 13 counties. In eight of those counties, including King, it hosts holiday parties, sending excited kids home with toys funded by proceeds of benefit golf tournaments held in Seattle and Yakima each year.
(WSB photo)
7:32 PM: Avoid 16th SW at Morgan (map), where that vehicle went sideways after its driver hit a parked car. He’s being evaluated for possible transport, our crew reports.
8:18 PM: SFD has closed out the call. We will be going by soon to check if the road has reopened yet.
8:51 PM: 16th is open and wrecked SUV is being towed right now.
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: The driver is under investigation for DUI.
(WSB photo)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Today marked the first day of the second month of the first school year with Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap serving as president of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).
She’s also completing her fourth month in the SSC presidency. “I was counting my Mondays for a while – I lost count around eight,” she laughed during our recent conversation on campus.
While the job is new to her, the workplace is not – as noted when her appointment was announced in May, Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap has been at SSC since the turn of the millennium, most recently as vice president of student services. “I had to move offices, so the hardest part of (that) transition was decluttering my old space and letting go.”
Bicycle theft is today’s West Seattle Crime Watch theme, so far. Good news first:
BIKE REUNION: Shortly after we published word from Melissa that her son’s bicycle had been stolen and another left in its place, a reader at Westwood Village reported a bike matching the stolen one’s description had been found dumped at the center. We pointed Melissa to WWV and a reunion ensued! (The bike she found hasn’t been claimed yet, though.)
2 MORE BIKES DUMPED/FOUND: This just turned up in Fauntlee Hills:
And this one in Seaview:
Either one yours? Let us know so we can point you to it.
BURGLAR STEALS 2 BIKES AT ONCE: Here are three short security-cam videos sent by a burglary victim – first, prowling cars in her driveway; then coming back – after stealing the garage opener rom one car – and breaking into the garage; finally, leaving while stealing two bikes at once.
This happened in the span of two early-morning hours on October 17th near South Seattle College on Puget Ridge. The bikes are “a women’s 2017 white Vita specialized bike, size small, and a men’s 2017 Sirrus carbon fiber, size medium.” If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 18-388463.
The 2020 Census is getting closer, and our state’s Complete Count Committee started its work today by having its kickoff meeting in West Seattle, at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). The committee is described as “a group of 30 leaders (Gov. Jay Inslee) has appointed to support and advise state officials on how best to ensure an accurate count of all Washington residents,” chaired by Gary Locke, who has served as governor and as U.S. ambassador to China. Both Inslee and Locke were there for this afternoon’s meeting:
The visitors were welcomed by SSC’s new president Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap:
Gov. Inslee talked with the media after speaking to the committee.
The committee’s members are listed here.
They include Sili Savusa, executive director of the White Center Community Development Association.
Another serious crash – this time in the 1900 block of SW Dawson [map]. Someone has been extricated from a vehicle and Dawson is blocked off, per police radio, between 18th and 21st.
(WSB photo)
Though the fall quarter at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) doesn’t start until September 24th (one week from Monday), many of this year’s 13th Year Promise students are on campus today as part of their 3-day Summer Bridge orientation. Though the count isn’t final until classes start, the school tells us they have about 100 students enrolled in the 13th Year program for the coming year. This is the first time that West Seattle High School graduates have been eligible, joining their counterparts from three other schools including Chief Sealth International HS. Mayor Durkan wants to expand the program, to all of the Seattle Colleges, with all students from Seattle public high schools potentially eligible for two years of free college. Funding for this will be part of a levy on the November ballot.
Thanks to Lisa for the photos! Fun times at West Seattle’s Puget Ridge Edible Park this afternoon – making cider with the WS Tool Library‘s cider press, singing along with local musicians …
… and getting some work in before fall arrives in full force.
That’s Stu Hennessey with the young volunteers. Want to help at PREP? 4-6 pm Sunday, October 14th is the next scheduled work party. The park is at 5265 18th SW.
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