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“Walking celebrity” joins Highland Park walk to Sanislo Elementary
May 12, 2009 9:35 am
|    Comments Off on “Walking celebrity” joins Highland Park walk to Sanislo Elementary
 |   Highland Park | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

That’s a photo we took outside Sanislo Elementary just before the morning bell today; at left is Jen Cole from the pedestrian-advocacy group Feet First, and at right, the man she describes as a “walking celebrity,” Mark Fenton from the PBS series “America’s Walking.” He joined a group of Sanislo families and Highland Park neighbors in a “walking school bus” this morning, traveling more than a mile from 11th/Thistle to Sanislo @ 21st/Myrtle, and then talked with students and parents outside the school. Along the route were a couple of crossings that have been high on local radar for safety improvements, including 12th/Holden in front of Highland Park Improvement Club – here’s our video as we crossed that busy route to and from eastern West Seattle:

While at that crossing, Highland Park Action Committee chair Dan Mullins, who was along for part of the walk, pointed out it’s one of the spots where HPAC’s new Traffic Committee (WSB story here) is working on safety improvements — that’s him on the left side of this next photo from the start of the walk:

You can see Fenton speak at Union Station downtown (map) tonight, 6 pm, during an event as part of the city’s Pedestrian Master Plan launch, spearheaded by SDOT (whose Jennifer Wieland joined this morning’s walk too).

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Tomorrow night: WSHS musical, SNAP in Fauntleroy, fire heroes
May 6, 2009 1:26 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Safety | West Seattle people | West Seattle schools

Wanted to get you advance reminders of three big things happening tomorrow night, starting with this: The photo is from one of the final rehearsals of “Merrily We Roll Along,” the West Seattle High School student musical that opens tomorrow night. Marketing manager Sumeet Chadha sends this info too:

West Seattle High School Drama Club has been hard at work over the past few months putting together an adaption of Merrily We Roll Along. This musical features a variety of talented students singing, dancing, and performing at their best. If you haven’t checked out a West Seattle High School Production, now is the time to be pleasantly surprised at what high school theater is capable of.

“Merrily We Roll Along” shows for the following two weekends: May 7, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7:30
Special Benefit Performance: May 14th at 8:00
$5.00 with reservation, $10.00 at the door. For tickets call: 206-252-8834
Performances at:
WSHS Theater, 3000 California Ave SW

ALSO TOMORROW – SNAP IN FAUNTLEROY: 6:30 pm is the time, Fauntleroy Church is the place, find out how to be ready for anything, as the Fauntleroy Community Association presents a free preparedness workshop with Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare.

LAST BUT BY ABSOLUTELY NO MEANS LEAST – FIRE DEPARTMENT HONORS HEROES: Tomorrow night in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall downtown, the Seattle Fire Department holds its annual awards ceremony. Recipients include a West Seattle-residing firefighter/paramedic whose story we brought you earlier this spring, Dave Pedras (read that story here).

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Protecting yourself
April 30, 2009 5:10 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

The Southwest Precinct Public Safety Newsletter is out, and it includes burglary and scam prevention tips – read on:Read More

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Happening now: WestSide Baby car-seat inspections/recycling
April 29, 2009 10:12 am
|    Comments Off on Happening now: WestSide Baby car-seat inspections/recycling
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | Safety

The photos are courtesy of WestSide Baby’s Nancy Woodland, who’s at IKEA in Renton right now for the car-seat safety event that her group is co-sponsoring till 1 pm – first photo, the cars lined up as it began an hour ago, photo below, the car seats that had been brought in for recycling. If you can make it to Renton and are interested, full details are in our original preview on partner site White Center Now.

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Got an old car seat you’re not using? WestSide Baby can recycle it
April 27, 2009 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on Got an old car seat you’re not using? WestSide Baby can recycle it
 |   How to help | Safety

We first published this at partner site White Center Now, but the invitation goes for West Seattle families too: It involves a car-seat-safety event with which WestSide Baby is involved on Wednesday at IKEA in Renton, but if you have really old car seats (6+ years old) still sitting around, WestSide Baby would love to get them today or tomorrow because of a rare opportunity to recycle most of what’s in them – get the full scoop here.

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In case you missed it: South Delridge/White Center crime update
April 26, 2009 6:30 pm
|    Comments Off on In case you missed it: South Delridge/White Center crime update
 |   Crime | Highland Park | Safety | White Center

It’s been a busy few days, so you might not have seen this on partner site White Center Now yet: If you live in south West Seattle, you’ll be interested in the crime updates — which included some good news! — plus Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg‘s remarks, as reported in our coverage of the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting Thursday night. See the story here. (Also of interest to south West Seattle: The Highland Park Action Committee‘s monthly meeting is tomorrow, 7 pm, 11th/Holden.)

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Also tonight: County prosecutor Satterberg back in West Seattle
April 23, 2009 1:00 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Another reminder about a big event tonight — King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg is scheduled to speak at tonight’s meeting of the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition (6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW; map). If you’ve got tough questions about the criminal-justice system and how crime suspects are handled after their arrests, he’s the elected official with the answers — although some of the decisions about sentences and criminal law ultimately are up to state legislators and the Governor. Here’s our report on his recent speech to the Rotary Club of West Seattle (and here’s our followup with the wild West Seattle car “chase” video he showed the Rotarians).

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Traffic alert: Beware the glare; light out at 30th/Roxbury
April 20, 2009 6:20 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | West Seattle news

Thanks to Jim for the tip – the stoplights at 30th/Roxbury (map) are out right now (and no temporary “stop” signs had been set up when we went over for a photo shortly after his tip came in) – because of the evening sunshine, the glare might fool you into thinking you have a green light; we’re checking to make sure somebody’s reported the outage.

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Officers on campus: Team introduced for Denny, 4 others
April 15, 2009 2:28 pm
|    Comments Off on Officers on campus: Team introduced for Denny, 4 others
 |   Safety | West Seattle police | West Seattle schools

(photo courtesy Mayor Nickels’ office)
As part of the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, five public middle schools, including Denny in West Seattle, will have officers on campus. The four officers on the citywide team were introduced at Seattle Public Schools HQ today; here’s the official announcement.

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Heads up: Helicopter over southeast West Seattle tomorrow
April 14, 2009 3:39 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Helicopter | Safety

Since nothing fills our inbox as fast as a more-than-fleeting helicopter sighting over West Seattle, we wanted to take the chance to give you ADVANCE WARNING about helicopter activity that’s planned tomorrow and may be visible from southeast West Seattle and White Center/Top Hat. The announcement comes from the Seattle Fire Department, about training tomorrow at 9401 Myers Way S (map here; Google Street View image below):


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The Seattle Fire Department and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office will conduct helicopter emergency operations training at the City of Seattle Joint Training Facility [9401 Myers Way S; map] on Wednesday, April 15. The drill will prepare both agencies to work together in the event of a regional disaster.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office UH-1H Bell “Huey” Helicopter is equipped with a rescue hoist, which will be used to practice lowering and raising teams of four firefighters onto and off of the roof of a training building. They will also test their skills at lowering equipment onto the roof. The techniques practiced in the drill will help prepare both agencies for special rescue operations including fires in high rise buildings, emergencies aboard ships or other hard-to reach locations and for delivering equipment and resources in the event of a major earthquake or other natural disaster.

Time frame, you ask? Early afternoon in particular, since the media’s been invited to photograph this around 1:30 tomorrow. P.S. Just heard on the Mariners broadcast that this Saturday is the Salute to Armed Forces, with pregame activity starting around 5:30 pm – a flyover is mentioned in the promotional blurbs, and those tend to have West Seattle in the flight path to Safeco – last year, we briefly caught the choppers on video.

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City budget cuts’ West Seattle effects include Fire Station 32 delay
April 13, 2009 11:51 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

One week after the city’s finance director warned that budget cuts would be forthcoming because of a $40 million-plus revenue shortfall, we just got first word of what will be affected. First major West Seattle effect: The project to replace Fire Station 32 in The Junction is likely on hold till at least 2011. Read on for more details, and what else was revealed in this morning’s briefing:Read More

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Delridge dilapidation tour, report #1: “Unintended consequence”
April 3, 2009 4:50 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

That’s a view through the open front door of the last stop on today’s tour of Delridge-area problem properties, organized by North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Mike Dady. Though he’s been fighting to get something done about vacant/trashed buildings in the area for three years, this one just turned up on his radar the other day – and in fact, when the tour group arrived, it turned out a city notice was posted:

Because of “high hazard” of imminent danger, the notice warned, the premises needed to be vacated by next Thursday. Those notices come from the Department of Planning and Development, whose top brass was on the tour, including director Diane Sugimura. City Councilmembers Sally Clark, who chairs the Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee, and Tim Burgess, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, were there too — he’s in this photo with Dady, looking at the first stop on the tour:

So was City Council candidate David Bloom, who got involved after hearing about the problem during a West Seattle visit, plus Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao, Mayor Nickels’ public-safety liaison Julien Loh, and concerned neighbors — more than 20 people. The city leaders acknowledged that some of these problem properties are an “unintended consequence” of a city law meant to “preserve housing” — which instead has resulted in vacant, crumbling buildings left standing.

At the very end of the tour, when everyone else had left, Dady expressed cautious optimism that change might be coming; Burgess said he’s introducing a proposal to crack down on property owners who allow illegal activity on their land, and Sugimura expressed support for changing the code that prevents those owners from tearing down even their own buildings without a plan for replacement. More specifics, and photos, coming up later.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Which crimes are up, which are down
April 3, 2009 9:49 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Beyond the incident-by-incident crime reports, we work to bring you “big picture” context whenever it’s available. When we saw Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen at a meeting the other night, he mentioned he was about to brief the SWP Advisory Council on March crime stats for the area, so we asked for the same overview, to share with you:

Car prowls are up over February. Items stolen are purses, iPods, GPS, wallets, laptops … items that could easily be taken out of vehicles to lessen the probability of being prowled. Suspects are teenagers and drug addicts. We have seen a trend that teenage females are also being involved in this crime. It only takes a few seconds to enter a vehicle and take the items. Some vehicles have been left unlocked as well. The suspects are looking for opportunities and easy pickings.

Auto thefts continue to go downward. The flavor of the month for March is Honda Civics.

Residential burglaries are down from February – mid 40s [total number for the area], which is less then our normal average, 50 or so. Items taken are the same as in car prowls. Weekdays, between 10 am and 1:30 pm, is the hot time. We made 5 arrests in March which cleared several cases.

You can also get the latest on West Seattle crime trends in person — and ask key precinct personnel about concerns in your neighborhood – by attending the next WS Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm April 21 at the precinct (Delridge and Webster).

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Delridge problem properties: Updates, and a meeting tonight
April 1, 2009 11:28 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Delridge | Safety | West Seattle news

One week ago today (WSB coverage here), that vacant North Delridge house in the 5400 block of 26th SW (map) was cleaned out by a city crew; it’s now slated to be auctioned off on April 17th foreclosure auction. The ongoing issue of Delridge-area problem properties – from vacant and squatter-besieged, to occupied but debris/deterioration-plagued – is one of the items on the agenda for tonight’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting, 6:30 pm at Delridge Library (map). NDNC co-chair Mike Dady, who has been working a long time to get the city to take notice of the issue, has finally succeeded, and we are now two days away from a tour he plans to lead of some of the problem spots (community members invited, meeting time/place is 2:30 pm Friday at Delridge Uptown Espresso). City Councilmember Sally Clark and Department of Planning and Development director Diane Sugimura have already RSVP’d, and since our original reports on this, the mayor’s public-safety liaison, Julien Loh, also has contacted Mike, who has invited the mayor to join the tour; a city attorney’s office rep is expected to be along too. (12:25 pm addition: We’re also told Councilmember Tim Burgess will be there, as will Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao.) One other development: The city’s Customer Service Bureau director has circulated a note reiterating city codes regarding properties like these — read on to see it (we’ve added inline links to the code sections she mentions):Read More

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“Just come out and talk,” invites a mom with life-saving advice
March 31, 2009 12:09 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“One in five sixth graders in our state is drinking alcohol now. But only five percent of sixth grade parents think their kid is drinking.”

Sixth graders – drinking? A startling thought — maybe not in the abstract, but it is if you know a kid that age. They’re on the edge of teenhood, and yet they still have frequent moments sparking the thought, “Really, they’re still just kids.”

The quote is from Chris Volkmann, an Olympia mom who will be speaking at Madison Middle School in West Seattle on April 8 with her son Toren Volkmann; the two have written a book together, “Binge to Blackout.” Before you switch off into “oh, just more preachy stuff” mode, listen to Chris’s invitation: “Just come out and talk with us.”

Toren is 26 now but truly lucky to be alive. I hoped to talk with him before writing this story but missed a connection; nonetheless, Chris’s side of the story is no less compelling – and if you have a child of any age, her suggestions for a non-typical way of discussing drinking with your kid(s) are priceless.

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From the “whatever happened to …” file: Two collision cases
March 29, 2009 10:02 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | Safety | West Seattle news | Westwood

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:

crashscene.jpg

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:

motorcyclecrash.jpg

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.

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Alaskan Way Viaduct closure, day 1: The media tour
March 21, 2009 5:55 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Safety | Transportation

Video, photos, and text by Christopher Boffoli
WSB photojournalist

WSDOT maintenance crews closed the Alaskan Way Viaduct for 12 hours today for its semi-annual inspection and repairs, and are scheduled to do it again 6 am-6 pm tomorrow.

And as West Seattle drivers no doubt cursed the increased congestion as they navigated alternate routes off the peninsula, a select group of lucky people donned hard hats and reflective vests for walking tours of the 56-year-old structure. Transportation Department organizers said that the weekend’s public tours were open to anyone who signed up, though they filled up quickly. Hundreds of people were scheduled to tour the Viaduct this weekend and many more were put on waiting lists.

In addition to the public walking tours, a media tour was organized for first thing this morning, and WSB went along for a closer look at what’s being done this weekend – not just the inspection, but also some work related to the Viaduct’s proposed replacement.
Read More

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Delridge-area problem properties: A call for “quick demolition”
March 21, 2009 2:34 am
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Safety | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

We reported Thursday about a stirring of hope that some high-level city attention may finally be given to a problem that’s been plaguing the Delridge area in its redevelopment throes: Even as some of Delridge’s old homes make way for new construction – particularly townhouses – some houses sit abandoned for years, and become magnets for trouble — like the one above, which sits prominently over the northbound Delridge approach to The Bridge. While, as we reported last night, the city says it was cleared and “secured” a few weeks ago, the proprietor of nearby Skylark Club and Cafe (WSB sponsor) pointed out in a new e-mail discussion (including city councilmember Sally Clark, who promised to come tour the area) that it was also reportedly “secured” last year, too (after a small fire we reported here, attributed to transients). And North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Mike Dady says he would like to see this lead to changes that can help areas beyond Delridge, too:

My hope is that we will see Council Member Clark and Diane Sugimura follow through and visit Delridge within the next couple weeks. But my greater hope is that we don’t just have a band-aid or quick-fix put on wound that is affecting not just Delridge, but many other parts of the city. These are properties that are in the hands of absentee property owners, speculators or developers who allow them to sit vacant, completely unattended or monitored, and looking like, well…..looking like a pile of you-know-what and attracting problems that are in some cases beyond the imagination.

It seems to me that the City Council and the Mayor’s Office needs to revise the Seattle Municipal Code to allow quick demolition and removal of problem prone structures as it is nearly impossible to keep trespassers out of vacant building, even if it is boarded up with plywood, lumber and lag bolts. Allowing houses without water service turned on and functional plumbing to become de facto shelters for transient or homeless people is not an acceptable solution to that very separate and difficult issue.

To allow these dilapidated properties to remain as is, for many, many years in some cases, creates a public safety problem, wastes citizen energy and is a drain on DPD, SPD, SFD and KC Public Health budgets and staff time.

Sincerely,
Mike Dady
North Delridge Neighborhood Council Co-Chair

It’s not just the vacant houses that he’s concerned about, but also the occupied ones that are literally trashed outdoors – like this junk pile spotted recently behind a multiplex in the 4800 block of Delridge (map):

The discussed city-involved tour of Delridge hasn’t been scheduled yet, to our knowledge, but we will continue to follow up. You can also bet this will be on the next NDNC agenda – the council meets the first Wednesday of each month, so that’s 6:30 pm April 1st, Delridge Library.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: A date for the tour is now set for early April, according to Mike Dady, and at least one citywide media outlet may be along, after reading about it here.

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Delridge District Council: Problem properties – finally some help?
March 19, 2009 5:36 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Delridge District Council | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

That house is at the far north end of Delridge, across the busy, bridge-approaching street from Skylark Club and Cafe (WSB sponsor). When someone broke into Skylark last month, all eyes turned there. Technically, the house is vacant. In reality, it hasn’t been — it’s been used by squatters and partyers, and Skylark proprietor Jessie Summa-Kusiak says it’s been a sore spot for that area for quite some time. It’s part of a problem that North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Mike Dady brought to last night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting, out of abject frustration. After trying for a long time to get something done, he says, the city needs to take stronger action about properties like this one – and tonight, there may be some progress – read on:Read More

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Street notes: Highland Park crash; Alki work; Viaduct reminder
March 19, 2009 3:50 pm
|    Comments Off on Street notes: Highland Park crash; Alki work; Viaduct reminder
 |   Highland Park | Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

We reported this in the WSB Twitter stream when it happened but just got a bit more info now: Two children were slightly hurt when their school bus was involved in a crash on westbound Highland Park Way just east of West Marginal Way (map) at midday today – the bus and a minivan both had front-end damage; still checking on circumstances of the crash. Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says the kids did NOT have to go to the hospital. Meantime, at Alki Point, the first week of work on the sidewalk-extension project now has an alert sign up at 63rd/Alki (by Cactus), noting the westbound road is for “local access only.”

The actual work is beginning at the Beach Drive/Alki Avenue end, with survey work for starters:

And of course, the biggest traffic alert of all – remember, the Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 6 am-6 pm both Saturday and Sunday this weekend for its half-yearly inspection, and the Battery Street Tunnel is to be closed around the clock from Friday night till Monday morning. (Plus, if you see this before Thursday evening and plan to drive through Sodo/Pioneer Square, remember the huge crowd expected for the Seattle Sounders‘ debut rally/march/game.)

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Also happening tonight: Parks Board in West Seattle, and more
March 12, 2009 11:26 am
|    Comments Off on Also happening tonight: Parks Board in West Seattle, and more
 |   High Point | Safety | West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle news | West Seattle online | West Seattle parks | West Seattle schools | Westwood

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.

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Junction crime update, including latest on Steve Bushaw murder
March 10, 2009 11:44 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

(2/1/09 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
An update on the unsolved murder of Steve Bushaw was part of what the Junction Neighborhood Organization heard during tonight’s lightly attended meeting – the many who have voiced concern about recent Junction crime, but didn’t attend the meeting, missed a chance for candid Q/A with the #2 boss from the Southwest Precinct, Lt. Steve Paulsen. One big question came from JuNO president Erica Karlovits: What if anything could he say about the Bushaw case, 5 1/2 weeks after the 26-year-old was shot and killed on Super Bowl night? Lt. Paulsen said, “This was not a random attack … homicide detectives have a lot of good leads and it’s progressing. Sometimes these take a lot of time, even if you know who a suspect is, to develop probable cause …” And he reiterated that there’s no evidence it was random: “Every indication is that these people knew each other.” The absence of stranger-on-stranger violence was a theme in his general discussion, and the Q/A, about Junction-area crime. Car prowls continue to be the top problem, but he said they were down in February – just under 90, compared to just under 130 in January, and the March rate is even lower so far, with just two reported to police in the past few weeks. He mentioned a couple of recent arrests may have played a part in getting the worst offenders off the street.

He also was asked about trouble with “night establishments” and drunk driving, especially given what happened last night:

(Monday evening photo by Mark Ammann)
Lt. Paulsen reiterated that DUI is suspected in last night’s crash, in which the 35-year-old driver of that pickup hit 13 other cars (mostly parked) along the east side of California SW in the heart of The Junction’s business district (previous WSB coverage here). It was also mentioned that a suspected drunk driver hit a pole on that same side of California just north of Oregon several hours later (911 logs confirm a motor-vehicle accident call at that location at 1:52 am today). More of tonight’s discussion about Junction crime, just ahead:Read More

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Alki Point sidewalk project update: Work will start this month
March 5, 2009 10:16 pm
|    Comments Off on Alki Point sidewalk project update: Work will start this month
 |   Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from February 13 sidewalk-project site tour)
Three weeks after touring the Alki Point sidewalk-completion/traffic-calming project zone with Alki Community Council leaders and other neighbors (WSB coverage here), SDOT project manager Sandra “Sam” Woods met with the contractor today to discuss the schedule, and here’s the verdict: The contractor Construct Co. has decided that the Alki project will be the first one it tackles from the package of projects in the same bid (which also include the Snake Hill work in Delridge). No exact date yet, but Woods says it will be “this month,” and they will likely be back out in the neighborhood shortly with another round of notices. She also notes that no-parking signs will go up at least three days before the equipment starts arriving, and she says it’s likely – though not certain yet – the contractor will start work on the Beach Drive end of the project. (To see the full set of plans, go here.)

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