West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
Two reader reports, plus crime-prevention advice, in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight.
BURGLAR TRIES TO STEAL BICYCLES: From J, a security-camera image and report:
Last night about 3:30 am a unidentified person broke into our condo garage on the 1300 block of Alki Avenue and attempted to steal our two Bikes. Fortunately the person was not able to break the lock and left.
CAR VANDALIZED: From Monica:
My car was vandalized last night on Beach Dr. Back window was hit with something (no rocks in the car) and glass is completely shattered. It appears to be straight-up vandalism as the car was not broken into.
PREVENTING CAR PROWLS: Received today from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Burbridge, SPD advice on car-prowl prevention – see it here.
(Stuck truck – image courtesy Laura James)
3:57 PM: An oversize truck got stuck in the northbound Battery Street Tunnel, and SDOT reports the backup is now four miles, past the West Seattle Bridge. A texter says southbound is slow too. So if you’re headed toward downtown, or northbound out of it, find another way, or wait a while.
4:30 PM: It’s actually a truck with an oversize load. No word yet about what’s planned to clear it, so this is likely going to be going on for some time.
4:47 PM: Now there’s also a crash reported on the southbound Viaduct before Columbia Street. So Highway 99 through downtown is in general a mess.
5:08 PM: The southbound crash is cleared. But still no news of what’ll be done to get the oversize truck unstuck in the BSTunnel.
6:05 PM: Now SDOT says the NB Battery Street Tunnel is closed to all traffic.
6:27 PM: The truck’s been towed out and all lanes of the tunnel are open again.
(Photo by Peter Tutak)
Yesterday an aircraft carrier, today a submarine. Thanks to those who sent photos of the sub sighting earlier this afternoon; Josh Farley from the Kitsap Sun tweeted that it’s the USS Nebraska, leaving Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. This page with U.S. Navy photos and info says the Nebraska is leaving “after completing an extended major maintenance period, to include an engineered refueling overhaul.”
SIDE NOTE: Checking the Sun’s site, we learned the decommissioned carrier USS Independence, which passed us back in March, arrived yesterday at Brownsville, Texas, where it’ll be scrapped.
(UPDATED 4:59 PM with district slide deck from meeting)
(WSB video of entire Thursday night meeting at Louisa Boren STEM K-8)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Say it!”
Just a few years after Seattle Public Schools designated the former Louisa May Boren Junior High School as the permanent home of West Seattle’s STEM K-8 school, its parents and supporters found themselves last night demanding that district officials re-state that status.
Which they eventually did – but without an accompanying guarantee the school won’t be moved.
The campus’s past as an interim site is the main reason it’s in the district’s crosshairs right now for a potential return to that status, the STEM K-8 community was told during the boisterous briefing meeting (previewed here and here).
Associate superintendent Dr. Flip Herndon opened the hour-plus meeting by explaining that the district expects to be constructing and renovating schools “for the next 15 years, at least” as its enrollment continues to grow and its buildings continue to age.
Capital Projects and Planning director Richard Best went through the slides, starting with a recap of the schools recently built and renovated in West Seattle, including last fall’s opening of the new Arbor Heights and Genesee Hill elementaries, with the district expecting to grow to 55,000 students soon. He directed people to the Facilities Master Plan on the SPS website for an overview. They’re adding dozens of classrooms each year. Slides showed most elementary schools trending up, though they’re wondering if it’s plateau’ing. (Update – we requested the slide deck and received it this afternoon – PDF here, embedded below:)
Best said that adding special education capacity at every school also leads to campus-capacity challenges, as well as class-size-reduction mandates. They’ll be working with enrollment planners over the summer. And he noted that “in West Seattle we are seeing elementary growth occur more rapidly in the northern section than in the southern section.”
Capacity planning also involves looking at schools’ outdated systems that might not support technology – so those “rise to the top of the list to meet the educational needs of our students and staff.” That will figure into the 2019 BEX V levy. He added that school modernization means that “of the 102 schools that we have, over a third have historical landmark designations, so we can’t tear those buildings down.” (Those include EC Hughes, being modernized right now so that Roxhill Elementary can be moved there in a year, as we’ve been reporting.)
So, that all came down to this: Boren is “one of our largest school sites left to be utilized as an interim location,” Best said, drawing boos. Read More
1 lap down, 65 to go for Lou, who is a retired, beloved PE teacher here. pic.twitter.com/bS8QGQpQKa
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) June 2, 2017
9:40 AM: That’s Lou Cutler finishing his first lap a short time ago at Pathfinder K-8, where the retired PE teacher celebrates his birthday every year by running one lap for each year of his age, as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish.
(Lou and chief cheerleader/wrangler Teacher Andy, pre-run)
This morning, speaking to students and others just before starting his 66-lap day, Lou declared it “the greatest day of the year”:
We’ll be checking back at Pathfinder (1901 SW Genesee if you want to stop by and join in – and here’s his donation-drive link).
12:51 PM: We’re back at Pathfinder. After a little more than three hours, Lou’s finishing Lap 53 of 66.
Students filter in and out throughout the day – while Lou and teacher Andy were close to alone on the field, we’re told a couple of Pathfinder grades are about to rejoin them. The laps so far total 9 miles, we’re told.
1:42 PM: Minutes ago, Lou finished the 66th lap:
Lou did it again! Lap 66 just completed pic.twitter.com/NmbvQJAmdM
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) June 2, 2017
Loud cheers and chants of LOU! LOU! LOU! echoed around the field. And then, the victory photo:
Lou’s been a “wish-granting” volunteer for MAW for more than 20 years, even longer than he’s been doing this run. His actual birthday is later this month, so he’s still only 65, and as he started the second-to-last lap, with that number, he hollered, “A great year to be alive!”
P.S. And yes, he says he plans to do it again next year.
Looking ahead to the rest of your West Seattle Friday:
LOU’S MAKE-A-WISH RUN: Starting around 8:45 this morning on the field at Pathfinder K-8, retired PE teacher Lou Cutler is back for his annual birthday run raising money for Make-A-Wish. One lap for every year – this year, that’s 66! You’re invited to stop by and cheer him on, and/or join him on the track, and/or donate by going here. (1901 SW Genesee)
FREE TASTING @ NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: 4-8 pm at the Northwest Wine Academy on the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, it’s the spring-release celebration. 6-8 pm, alumni winemakers are pouring, too. (6000 16th SW).
WORDS, WRITERS, WEST SEATTLE: 5-7 pm at Barnes and Noble/Westwood Village, meet and hear author Claudia Rowe in this month’s Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented book talk. Here’s her video invitation:
More in our calendar listing. (2600 SW Barton)
CORNER BAR: The monthly pop-up bar at Highland Park Improvement Club welcomes you starting at 6 pm – all-ages until 9 pm. (1116 SW Holden)
WEST SIDE MUSIC ACADEMY: Students/staff of WSMA perform tonight at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
‘SWEENEY TODD’: Second night for ArtsWest’s new production, 7:30 pm curtain. (4711 California SW)
ALL-STAR REVIEW: More than 20 artists tonight at Parliament Tavern – not just music! 8 pm-1 am, no cover, 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
SKYLARK’S 11TH ANNIVERSARY: 9 pm – here’s who’s playing as The Skylark celebrates its 11th anniversary! $7 cover. 21+. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
FIREWORKS: You might hear them late tonight, from across Elliott Bay – the Mariners plan a post-game show at Safeco Field, and sometimes the sound carries.
MORE! See the rest of what’s happening today/tonight on our complete-calendar page.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:54 AM: Good morning! No incidents right now in West Seattle or on the outbound routes.
WEEKEND ALERTS: Changes this weekend on I-90 … and the NB Highway 509 paving starts Sunday.
7:30 AM: While tipster Susan reported no port-truck backup very early this morning, that’s since changed – just got a text from someone who biked to downtown and reports a big backup now.
8:49 AM: Texter reports Water Taxi trouble at Seacrest – possible mechanical issues. We’re checking with King County DOT.
8:57 AM: Haven’t heard back from them yet but we do see via Water Taxi Watch that Sally Fox (the Vashon vessel) is now at Seacrest.
9:20 AM: Brent Champaco of KCDOT confirms Doc Maynard is off to be checked out and Sally Fox is picking up its remaining morning commute runs. Update later.
In West Seattle Crime Watch, a call working right now, plus two followups:
GUNFIRE REPORTS: Police are responding right now to reports of gunfire heard near 17th and Henderson, and further east. If you heard it too, be sure to call 911, since that helps them trace the location.
Meantime, two followups:
CAR-PROWL SUSPECT OUT OF JAIL: The 37-year-old man arrested in Fauntlee Hills early yesterday after watchful neighbors called 911 got out of jail tonight. We’re not identifying him since he hasn’t been charged, but the King County Jail Register listed this as his sixth time in jail in the past 11 months, and Superior Court records show that he has an extensive criminal history, going back into his teens. We don’t know who the judge was or why s/he set the suspect free, only that the jail register says he got out on “conditional release” at 7:07 tonight. This doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be charged, so we’ll keep watching the case.
AUTO THEFT x 2: Back on Monday night, we covered the police search for two men who ran off after abandoning a stolen Subaru wagon on Beach Drive SW. Neither was found, but we’ve learned that they dumped another stolen vehicle before taking the Subaru. First clue came when J e-mailed us this photo that night, saying it was a stolen pickup, according to the tow truck driver:
That was in the 4000 block of California SW, which is also where police had told us the Subaru was taken. Today we finally got the police report narratives, which confirmed that the two men who took the Subaru had left the Chevy pickup behind at the scene. The report added that police spotted the stolen Subaru headed northbound on Fauntleroy Way past Lincoln Park while the responding officer was still talking with its owner. Then the two ditched it on Beach Drive (shaved keys were found in the ignition and dropped near the vehicle, the report says). As for where the pickup truck was stolen – all we know is that it’s described in the police report as a King County Sheriff’s Office case.
(WSB photo: EWA’s Dave McCoy @ past Fly Fest Guide Cookoff)
Fly-fishing fan? Know one? You’ll want to be at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park this Saturday (June 3rd) as Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) presents the annual free Fly Fest. Here’s the plan:
Schedule of Presentations and Casting Classes:
9:00 AM – Intro to Fly Casting Class
9:45 AM – Summer Steelhead Opportunities and Tactics
10:30 AM – Fly Fishing Puget Sound
11:15 AM – Single Hand Spey Demonstration
12:00 PM – EWA Guide Cookoff and Free Lunch
1:00 PM – Cuba: What US Anglers/Travelers need to know
1:45 PM – Advanced Casting Class: Double Hauling, Distance, etc.
2:30 PM – Fly Fishing Cascade Mountain CreeksAll presentations and classes are open to all, no reservations required!
All Day:
Demo rods from Scott, Winston, Sage, G. Loomis, Echo, Epic, Hardy, Redington, Fenwick, and More!
Check out the latest in gear from Patagonia, Simms, Costa, Yeti, Airflo, Rio, OPST, Outcast, Nautilus, Bauer, Waterworks-Lamson, Abel, Galvan, 3-Tand, Tibor, and More!
Experience the heat of competition as EWA guides battle it out in the Annual EWA Guide Cookoff. Sample guide lunches and make sure to cast your vote for the ever popular people’s choice award.
Free casting instruction all day from EWA Staff and IFFF Certified Instructors
Free seminars from EWA Staff and Industry Reps
Later on Saturday night, at Emerald Water Anglers’ Junction store (4502 SW Oregon) at 7 pm, it’s the Seattle premiere of “SLAM” with Hilary Hutcheson: “the engaging story of three female anglers from different walks of life in pursuit of the same epic challenge.” Free, but tickets are required – go here to get yours.
6:26 PM: Most of the units sent on what was originally a “heavy rescue” callout at 44th and Massachusetts have been canceled, but we’re still on our way to find out about the crash, which is reported to involve a delivery truck.
6:44 PM: The driver has been taken to the hospital by private ambulance, indicating non-life-threatening injuries. We’ve added a photo of the damaged truck.
7:46 PM: Two more photos added, from WSB’s Christopher Boffoli, including one showing the SUV that was the other vehicle involved in the crash. The “heavy rescue” callout was made initially because the driver’s-side damage on the Amazon Fresh truck had led to concern the driver might be trapped.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After what was publicized as an hourlong meeting was well into overtime, a relentless round of questioning finally dug into the heart of the matter:
Is there really any choice about what’s going to be done about Lowman Beach Park‘s failing north seawall?
While Seattle Parks‘ David Graves (top photo) and his consulting engineers showed three possibilities – including one keeping the tennis court and restoring the seawall – Graves acknowledged it was unlikely he would be able to get grant money for a new wall.
And that concerned many of the ~40 people at the meeting, mostly waterfront residents north and south of the park, some of whom think the city’s removal of a south seawall section in the ’90s has adversely affected their property, and are worried the city doesn’t have enough information about effects of another removal.
Here’s how it all unfolded: Read More
(Nancie Hernandez with Salmon in the Schools – Seattle, leads Concord second graders as they explore habitat near Fauntleroy Creek. Photos by Mark Ahlness)
Two seasonal salmon milestones have just been reached at Fauntleroy Creek, Judy Pickens reports:
On Wednesday, Fauntleroy Creek volunteers hosted the last of 700+ students who visited Fauntleroy Park over the past five weeks for salmon releases.
(Concord International students leave Fauntleroy Park after the last of 19 salmon releases at Fauntleroy Creek)They brought 1,800 coho fry reared since January in area schools through the Salmon in the Schools program.
This week also marked the end of monitoring smolts migrating out to Fauntleroy Cove. Since mid-March, twice-daily checking of upper and lower traps documented that 32 coho smolts had survived their year in the creek, up from 19 in 2016. They’ll put on weight in nearshore habitat, then head to open water before returning to spawn in two years.
The next big seasonal event: Volunteers will watch for returning spawners this fall. Seven showed up last year – after zero in 2015, 19 in 2014, zero in 2013, and a record 274 counted in 2012.
Carrying out a plan first reported here last Thursday, the city is clearing the 2nd Avenue SW site [map] that has been an unauthorized RV encampment for three weeks. “Move along to where?” is the question that dozens of people have been asking at the site they call “Camp Sanctuary“; pull back from the trailer, and you’ll see police vehicles, with the SPD-led Navigation Team there to offer options.
The Southwest Precinct’s point person on homelessness-related issues, Community Police Team Officer Todd Wiebke, was there when we stopped by around noon; unlike the recently cleared area under the West Seattle Bridge, this is in the SW Precinct’s jurisdiction.
Officer Wiebke told us that while those on the site were warned last week that they, their vehicles, and belongings would be removed today, they have until tomorrow to clear out.
The original announcement of the campers’ arrival said they had been swept from parking spots in SODO; the city contended that it wasn’t a sweep, it was parking-rule enforcement. As for this site, a state-owned parcel adjacent to city land where tent camps have been evicted before, the city says WSDOT intends to use it soon as a staging area for summer work on I-5. We’ll check back tomorrow.
SIDE NOTE: Officer Wiebke’s been writing publicly for a while about his work. His occasional posts are also now being featured on WSB; the latest is in our Forum.
Thanks to Sheattland for tweeting photos of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), seen from West Seattle, as it headed out of Rich Passage, leaving Bremerton for an expected six-month deployment. It has sailed past us several times in recent months – most recently in late April – for shorter training/certification trips in preparation for this deployment. It’s headed to the western Pacific, where two other carriers and their strike groups already are.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s a challenge, a lesson, and empowerment.
Every year, eighth graders at Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) are exhorted, invited, and assigned to “Change the World.”
That’s the theme of the group projects they must complete and present before leaving EWMS and moving on to high school.
We’ve featured some in past years – two years ago, a group that wanted to make sure kids of all abilities had a place to play, and made a difference in a local project; last year we featured a group advocating for expanding the availability of healthful food.
This year’s topics were, according to teacher Tim Owens, as chosen by students, all relating to sustainability:
– Bullying of students with disabilities
– Sexual harassment and assault in schools
– Immigrant rights
– Assistance for refugees
– Sex trafficking
– Youth homelessness
– Depression among adolescents
– Gender inequality (regarding pay)
Along with group projects, EWMS students invited world-changers to speak with them about some of those problems and what is being/can be done about them.
We were there on Tuesday afternoon as the entire school gathered in the gym to hear from four people representing organizations working on civil/human rights, and then moved on to classrooms where the eight groups of eighth-graders made their project presentations.
Read More
Some West Seattle businesses expand to Ballard, some to Burien. Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) is literally going much farther – expanding to Portland! Here’s how proprietor Frank Gross announced it:
We are thrilled to announce that this fall we will be opening another Thunder Road Guitars storefront in one of my favorite cities, Portland, Oregon. The new Portland store will act as a sister store to our flagship Seattle location and will be owned and operated by one of our own, Will York, who I’m sure most of you know. Will moved to Seattle from Gainesville, Florida, in 2012 and got his start in the musical instrument business winding pickups for Lollar Pickups. Will has been with us since 2015 and has become a true asset to Thunder Road Guitars.
We are so excited to have Portland be the first city outside of Seattle with a Thunder Road Guitars. The new store will be located in the Nob Hill neighborhood at 1024 NW 19th Ave and will be open for business in early September of this year. Thank you all so much for your support and business over the years, here’s to the next chapter!
Thunder Road Guitars’ West Seattle shop is in The Junction (4736 California SW).
(Photo by Jim Borrow, who says murmurations of European Starlings have been happening at Alki Point the past few nights)
Here’s what’s ahead for your Thursday:
USS NIMITZ HEADING OUT: Alert for ship-watchers – you can expect an aircraft carrier sighting late this morning as the USS Nimitz deploys from Bremerton.
HAWKS NEST WEST OPENS: As previewed here last night, the new bar/restaurant on Alki officially opens at 3 pm. (2806 Alki SW)
MOVE BOREN STEM K-8? As previewed here yesterday and last week, Seattle Public Schools officials will be at Louisa Boren STEM K-8 at 6:30 tonight to talk about the possibility they’ll propose moving the school to another building. (5950 Delridge Way SW)
DESIGN REVIEW FOR 5458 CALIFORNIA SW: What could be the final Southwest Design Review Board meeting for the six-live-work-unit project at California/Findlay is set for 6:30 pm tonight. The meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building includes a public-comment period. (4217 SW Oregon)
MARY LAMBERT AT EASY STREET: 7 pm, free Easy Street Records in-store concert by chart-topping, Grammy-nominated singer Mary Lambert – backstory in our calendar listing. All ages. (California SW/SW Alaska)
NORTH HIGHLINE UNINCORPORATED AREA COUNCIL: 7 pm at North Highline Fire District headquarters, the community council for White Center and vicinity meets. The agenda is previewed on our partner site White Center Now. (1243 SW 112th)
‘SWEENEY TODD’: Opening night at ArtsWest Playhouse, 7:30 pm curtain. Details in our calendar listing. (4711 California SW)
HORSE & TIGER: Live music at Parliament Tavern, 9 pm-midnight: “A night of funky instrumental improv, featuring members of The True Loves.” No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
MUCH MORE … on our complete-calendar page.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:52 AM: Good morning and welcome to June. No incidents right now in West Seattle or on the major outbound routes.
8:33 AM: WSDOT says that the left lane on NB 509 just before the 1st Avenue S. Bridge is blocked by a stalled vehicle.
8:39 AM: SPD is being dispatched to a reported two-vehicle collision at Delridge/Thistle, with both reported to be “facing westbound.”
8:48 AM: The location has been corrected to 22nd SW/SW Thistle. No serious injuries reported so far, as there’s no accompanying SFD dispatch.
So many things that should be basics for students are now “extras.” So, along with raising and educating kids, parents and teachers have to be crowdfunders and event planners, among other things. Some schools’ core communities have resources to draw on … some don’t. In the latter category is the little elementary school in a wooded corner of Puget Ridge, Sanislo. Its longtime tagline has been “the small school with big ideas.” One big idea: Ask the wider community for support. Rebecca Evans hopes you’ll answer the call:
Sanislo Elementary’s Tropical Nights annual auction is next Friday, June 9th at 6 pm. WE HAVE ONLY SOLD 40 out of 200 tickets! While desperation is not really my thing, I’m afraid we will really let the students down if I don’t make a serious call for help.
We are a Title I school and are already limited on financially capable parents, community support and attendees to combat this. Other neighborhood schools in the area have the capability to raise anywhere between 80-120k at their auctions…we have a goal of 5k.
Underserved students have a much higher chance of resorting to unhealthy activity in life like violence, crime, and drugs when not supported otherwise. With 70% of our students receiving free or reduced lunch, a high percentage of refugee families trying to assimilate to a new environment, and an 18% homeless rate, our students are, statistically, primary targets for these outcomes.
Through your support, we have the ability to re-direct mindsets, perceptions and natural barriers to success by providing educational and enrichment EQUITY to help ALL our students become contributing community members by way of support services and enrichment programs.
Please consider supporting the youth in your community by purchasing a ticket and joining us for a night of great fun, food, and music.
We have Two Story Zori, a popular Island band who will be performing and lots of fantastic items for bidding!
You can purchase tickets at www.sanislo.org, where you can also donate to the school’s efforts, even if you aren’t able to make the event!
Please please please consider being a part of changing the narrative! The difference you can make through this small contribution could be life-lasting for our students.
Tickets are only $10 online in advance, including a drink, and the party’s at the legendary Highland Park Improvement Club.
Half a year ago, we told you about the plan for the former Alki Huddle to become Hawks Nest West. After extensive remodeling of the space at 2806 Alki SW, The Hawks Nest is finally ready to open its Alki expansion – in “soft open” mode tonight, and then officially opening at 3 pm tomorrow (Thursday, June 1st). We stopped by for photos late today.
Like its sibling establishment in SODO – and as you would guess from the name – Hawks Nest West has a sports theme.
Here’s a photo of the menu. It will be open 3 pm to midnight for the first two weeks, we’re told, then 11 am to midnight, with weekend brunch to be added soon.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The supermarket’s shelves are mostly bare.
The chain’s CEO stood among them, looking around, and was … happy.
That’s the unusual scene we encountered this afternoon at PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (WSB sponsor), which has hours to go before closing for the site’s redevelopment, including its new store, almost twice as big. Cate Hardy, PCC CEO and West Seattle resident, explained that the empty shelves represent a gift of sorts – they put much of the merchandise on sale in hopes of selling as many items as possible to the store’s loyal, local customers, instead of doing what a supermarket chain might do instead, just load up the leftovers and truck them to another store.
Our photos tell the story of just how much has been sold. The last prepared foods, Hardy noted, were cooked a few hours ago – the deli wasn’t sold out yet when we visited at mid-afternoon, but the store’s closing early tonight – 10 pm – and we can’t guarantee you’ll find much of anything if you visit this evening. The produce section, for example, was not only mostly bare, the center display stands had been moved out.
As Hardy walked us around the store, she noted that much of its equipment will be set up in the new Burien store opening next year. Many staffers are moving to other stores; Corinne, West Seattle manager for four years, isn’t – she told us she’s “semi-retiring.” For now.
She and other staffers have special West Seattle pins in commemoration of the soon-to-be-demolished store. Hardy observed that the “energy level is high” despite the looming shutdown, and that’s what we observed too.
The store had a Staff Appreciation Day party two weeks ago, with food trucks (including vegan Plum Bistro). And this afternoon, a mini-bash with (organic, of course) corn dogs and ice cream was happening in the upstairs break room. That’s also where employees are signing the wall:
They’re also proud of the cards and other messages they’ve received expressing appreciation:
Before customers exit the front door, they’re seeing this sign, with the reminder of other PCC stores, plus delivery options – Instacart and Prime Now – that will bring PCC merchandise to customers in West Seattle.
PCC is scheduled to reopen in 2019 as the only retail tenant in the Madison Development Group project on the site, which also will include 100+ apartments and 150+ offstreet parking spaces, including the existing surface corner lot west of the alley.
LOOKING FOR BACKSTORY? This WSB report from 11 months ago, when PCC finalized its spot in the new development, has a lot.
We heard much of this unfold on the scanner early today, but not enough for a report until the Block Watch captain sent this in:
:We reported, and SPD arrested, a car prowler on our block, 8800 block of 42nd Ave SW, last night/this am @ 12:30 AM.
From our front window we observed a man getting out of the car that is not working parked across the street … This was suspicious as that car does not move. The suspect moved down the block, zig zagging, trying every car and getting into some and sitting – probably stealing. By this time we had called 911. SPD response was within 3 min. They were able to apprehend the suspect … and they took him to jail. Hope he spent the night thinking about his actions! … Please keep a sharp eye out for any suspicious behavior and don’t be shy about calling 911. Their quick response time was commendable. We had no less than 8 SPD cars on the block within a few minutes of our call.
Response times, of course, can vary depending on what else was going on … before that, it was pretty quiet in this area. There was also a big response this morning when a neighbor near 25th/Roxbury called in a report of someone entering a house through a window .. the house turned out to be “registered as vacant,” according to police-radio traffic. We don’t know how that one turned out.
Speaking of strengthening crime prevention and safety in your neighborhood – Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Burbridge just sent word that registration is open for this year’s Night Out – Tuesday, August 1st:
National Night Out registration is officially open! Registration remains open until 5 pm on Monday July 31st. Community members can visit seattle.gov/police/community-policing/night-out to register and access printable invitations, street closure signs, and logos for your event.
Night Out is a national event promoted in Seattle by Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities.
As mentioned here last week, Seattle Public Schools reps will be at Louisa Boren STEM K-8 tomorrow night for a meeting about the possibility that the district will seek to move the school to another building.
The STEM community has since received more elaboration from associate superintendent Flip Herndon about what’s being considered and why. He says that as the district plans its February 2019 BEX V ballot measure, with possible school renovation/reconstruction projects including Alki and Lafayette Elementaries, they’re assessing what they have for interim sites – and finding the inventory lacking. Boren had long been an interim site, Herndon notes, and is bigger than what’s left around the city. His statement says Alki and Lafayette might be rebuilt at the same time, and that would “require a site to accommodate more than 1,000 elementary students.” Herndon’s message continues:
Current possibilities on interim locations would still be John Marshall (in use until 2021), Original Van Asselt (in use 2018-2020), Roxhill, Schmitz Park, Webster (won’t be open for any use until 2020).
The possibility of having Boren used as an interim site, as it has been in the past, would clearly have an impact on the STEM K-8 School and any move would require that any new space would be able to meet the facility needs of the program, which would include lab spaces and rooms that are able to meet the academic needs of all students. We realize that there are some concerns about needs at any site they include spaces to support CTE programs, science, two PE teachers, athletics, seven special education programs, preschool, technology integration, and middle school programming in general. Furthermore, STEM K-8 will have experienced dramatic change and growth for four consecutive years through 2017-18. Moving to a facility with significant limitations will disrupt efforts to build consistency and stability in a new K-8 program. Timing is a challenge as well. Work has to be done in preparation for any site, interim or not, in the 2017-19 timeframe to be prepared for school needs. We are also looking at the balance of options within clusters of schools. We are trying to make sure every middle school attendance area has additional options for students and families.
We are having the conversations now so we can get the perspective and understanding of impacts before we make any final decisions on how we will be able to accommodate our physical capacity needs for the next 10-20 years. These decisions and conversations are not taken lightly and they are helping to have SPS be able to meet multiple demands from multiple communities. We are looking at making some decisions, at the earliest, in October 2017 and at the latest January 2018.
Meantime, the STEM PTA is making its case about why the school needs to stay at the location designated its permanent site in 2013, rather than make a move considered likely to be to the former Schmitz Park Elementary campus:
• In its current location, STEM is able to serve all of West Seattle. By contrast, the boundaries of Schmitz Park’s northwest location would negatively impact equitable access to the school for students in the community.
• STEM is the only option school in the Denny Middle School service area, and has a geographic zone aligned with West Seattle Elementary. That geozone would change if the school moves to Schmitz Park, which means placement of students from the less diverse, more affluent neighborhoods of West Seattle would take priority over students living in the central and south areas.
• The current capacity of the Schmitz Park building is 216 without portables. The public voted to approve the BEX IV levy, in part, to get children out of portables. Moving a school from an adequate site to one where 60% of students would be in portables disregards the wishes of the taxpayers and the goal of the District to provide permanent classrooms for West Seattle’s growing student population.
• STEM provides a unique project-based curriculum. The high demand for this type of curriculum, as demonstrated by our projected 2017-18 enrollment of 539 (and waitlist of 189), will continue to grow and can only be accommodated at Boren. STEM’s Special Education families depend on the valuable services offered at the school – any disruption to these services is unacceptable.
• Schmitz Park was designed as an elementary school and does not have the physical infrastructure to support middle-school programs and activities.
• A move to Schmitz Park will create logistical hardships for families living in the southern neighborhoods of West Seattle, increase transportation costs for the school district, and increase vehicle traffic in the residential neighborhood surrounding the location.
Thursday night’s meeting is at 6:30 pm at STEM K-8 (5950 Delridge Way SW).
| 2 COMMENTS