West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
On sunny days, visitors to Alki generate a lot of trash. On the beach side, Parks struggles to keep up with it, as reported here before, and as a few regional news organizations noted earlier this week. But today, outside the park boundaries, Alki has one less trash can – apparently, because it was used too much. Diana e-mailed Metro to ask about the trash can that disappeared from the stop on eastbound Alki at 61st SW and shared the response she received today:
Thank you for your recent case submittal, advising Metro Transit of your concerns about maintenance and lack of trash can at the bus stop on 61st Ave SW & Alki Ave SW. I appreciate your use of public transportation and I regret the circumstances that made it necessary for you to contact us.
This trash can at this stop was pulled due to excessive trash from the coffee shops and not our bus patrons. Our shelter cleaning crews are not (there) everyday and the amount of trash that was being dumped was a factor in the removal of this trash can. A trash can will not be re-installed.
“Coffee shops” would apparently be a reference to the Starbucks store that’s a few steps down and the Top Pot store to the west of that. And as to how much trash is NOT too much, we’re contacting Metro to follow up.
(Wednesday evening note: We’re expecting Metro’s response tomorrow, so look for a followup.)
(UPDATED 5:53 PM with comment from tree/lot’s owner)
(WSB photos)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Barely three blocks as the crow flies from where the illegal cutting of 100+ trees sparked a regional uproar, the potential legal cutting of a single tree is inspiring a quiet revolt.
Among the leaders – a neighborhood 9-year-old.
This tree and its situation are quite different from the now-notorious, deciduous-tree-dominated “clearcut” on public land in the Duwamish Head Greenbelt. This is an evergreen, on private land, a small lot over which it towers, a Ponderosa Pine labeled an “exceptional tree” by city standards, even in the arborist report for the proposal to build a house on the ~3000-square-foot site where it grows, at 3036 39th SW.
The city is currently in a comment period for the project, but as a standalone single-family-house proposal, it didn’t hit our radar until reader Catherine Darwin posted about it in the WSB Forums, starting the topic “Large Ponderosa Pine on 39th SW.” Read More
Five biznotes today:
ULTA TO WESTWOOD? The big Westwood Village space vacated by Pier 1 Imports has a new tenant on the way, according to city permit files: Ulta Beauty. The beauty-products retailer has almost 900 stores, according to its recent first-quarter-earnings report, including not-so-far-away Southcenter. We have a message out to their corporate HQ. (Update: Corporate response – “I don’t have anything to share with you at this time.”)
WONDERING ABOUT WHOLE FOODS? We’ve been asked recently about the latest timeline for Whole Foods Market to open in The Whittaker, the big mixed-use project under construction at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW. So we asked a company spokesperson. Reply: “Second half of 2017.” (The apartments are opening sooner.)
KIZUKI, THE SAGA CONTINUES: Elsewhere in The Junction, the #1 “when is it opening?” question continues to involve Kizuki Ramen and Izakaya in Junction 47. The newest public answer: “Near the end of this month.”
TALARICO’S REMODEL: Several people asked what’s going on at covered-up Talarico’s Pizzeria in The Junction. Back in mid-May when we reported on the old Schuck’s sign uncovered out front, we mentioned that the restaurant explained this was all part of a front-end remodel including the windows. (Update: They’re reopening at 5 pm today.)
WHITE CENTER NOTES: In case you hadn’t seen our coverage on White Center Now – a county permit-application sign says the recently sold Chevron at 15th/16th/100th is set for a Starbucks and Popeye’s. In our followup attempts, the former has no comment aside from a generic “we’re always looking for new locations”; we haven’t reached media relations at the latter yet. … And if you are following the White Center Dairy Queen saga, which started with an abrupt shutdown blamed on “register failure” and has included allegations that the franchisee didn’t pay employees for their final two weeks, two tipsters spotted equipment being hauled out yesterday. We have a message out to DQ corporate. (Added 11:36 am – Just got a call back from DQ corporate, which is checking with the “territory operator” to find out the location’s fate. … Added 3:12 pm: The corporate spokesperson says this will NOT be reopening as a DQ.)
(Last night’s sunset, photographed by Lynn Hall)
Happy midweek! Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for today/tonight:
LOCAL-BUSINESS MEETUP: Noon-1:15 pm, come visit our area’s only coworking center, West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), and network with your fellow local business entrepreneurs. (6040 California SW)
THE GREATEST MOVIES YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF: Wednesday-afternoon series continues at Senior Center of West Seattle, 1 pm, with Spencer Tracy in “Me and My Gal.” $1 members/$2 nonmembers. (California SW/SW Oregon)
LANDER STREET BRIDGE OPEN HOUSE: This revived SDOT project in SODO is of major interest in West Seattle, as a way to keep things moving over the train tracks. If you have questions, today’s 4-6 pm open house in SODO is one place to get answers – there’s also an “online open house” now accessible here. Stop by Metropolist.
AMERICAN LEGION POST 160: 6 pm on second Wednesdays is the monthly meeting at Post 160 in The Triangle. (3618 SW Alaska)
ULTIMATE FRISBEE: 6 pm Wednesday is “coed,” at Fairmount Playfield – more info here. (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW)
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: During tonight’s 7 pm meeting of the 34th District Democrats, district state legislators Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon and Sen. Sharon Nelson are scheduled to present an update on what’s been going on in Olympia. See the full agenda here. Meeting’s at The Hall @ Fauntleroy. (9131 California SW)
COUNTRY COVERS: That’s what you’ll hear from The Loose Heels at Parliament Tavern tonight, 8:30 pm. No cover. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
SOMETHING FOR THE CALENDAR? Please e-mail us the info – plain text in the body of your e-mail – at least a week in advance (the earlier the better!), editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
4:15 AM: A “full response” is arriving at a possible house-fire call in the 8100 block of 30th SW [map]. More to come.
4:19 AM: It’s a garage fire, SFD has tweeted. The response is being scaled down and its investigator is on the way.
4:29 AM: Our crew is at the scene and confirms that the fire’s out but a detached garage is damaged, as is a car inside it. No one hurt.
4:36 AM: SFD’s investigator has arrived to figure out what caused this. (Sunday’s early-morning garage fire, you might recall, was blamed on improperly discarded charcoal briquets. We’ll check back on this one later in the morning.)
10:19 AM: SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl tells WSB the garage fire is suspected to have been set, so Seattle Police are investigating. We went back a short time ago for a daylight look at the damage:
The arson tipline is 800-55-ARSON.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight. First one’s a followup, from Sarah:
Remember the Gibson guitar and Fender amp that were stolen out of my son’s car? They were recovered by the police after the robber tried to sell them this week at a Capitol Hill pawn shop! We had serial numbers that we had given to the police pawn shop squad (a very important step: make sure that happens so that they alert pawn shops). We are very happy and relieved! The broken car window was a $50 deductible, but all things considered, a good outcome to what had been a very no-good bad-day two weeks ago.
Second, recognize this potentially stolen-and-abandoned bicycle? Amy sent the photo:
She says it’s been parked on a sidewalk near EC Hughes Playground, and that it has a broken chain. If you recognize it, let us know – comments or editor@westseattleblog.com.
Third and final, a new round of safety advice from SPD, in the latest newsletter from Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon. Read it here as a two-page PDF.
(T-5, empty since summer 2014, in center of 2015 photo by Peter West Carey)
We went to tonight’s Terminal 5 Improvements Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement public hearing in Georgetown mostly to find out the format so you know what to expect at the one in West Seattle on Thursday night.
So you can plan, here’s the format:
5-6 pm, open house
6 pm, presentation, including project background and information on the environmental-review process
6:30 pm, opportunity for attendees to ask “clarifying questions”
6:45 pm until 8 pm (depending on how many speakers), public hearing
8-8:30 pm, open house
Spanish and Vietnamese interpreters were available.
After a welcome by Port Commissioner Fred Felleman, an overview of the “project purpose” was offered, showing that while the current T-5 (which has been closed to cargo for two years now) is set for 136′ maximum ship width, the largest ships out there now go to 193′, and that’s why they need to make it “big-ship ready.”
The project is sponsored by the Port of Seattle and the Northwest Seaport Alliance – its partnership with Tacoma – but Seattle is the lead agency and responsible for the environmental review, which it originally wasn’t going to do – then, after considerable citizen urging, it changed its mind, saying it had discovered that the project was likely to be big enough to mandate one anyway.
As you’ll see in the DEIS, three alternatives are reviewed: Read More
4:54 PM: Eight months after kicking her boyfriend’s toddler son to death in their Morgan Junction apartment, 21-year-old Alicia Goemaat pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder. We just found that out after checking court files. Goemaat was arrested less than a week after 17-month-old Drue Lehto was found dead; investigators say she kicked him and then placed him in his crib, where he was found. She eventually was reported to have said she was mad at Drue for fighting with her own young child over a toy. Second-degree murder is the charge originally filed against Goemaat last fall; we have no other details of today’s hearing but will update with anything more we find out. Her sentencing is set for July 8th.
6:18 PM: We now have information from KCPAO spokesperson Dan Donohoe regarding the sentencing recommendation: “The sentence range is 123 to 220 months in prison, and prosecutors will recommend 140 months.” (That’s 11 years, 8 months.)
(Map from July 2015 slide deck about 35th SW plan)
When last we checked in on the 35th Avenue SW Corridor Safety Project – which changed the configuration of lanes on 35th, from Roxbury to just south of Morgan, last fall – SDOT’s Jim Curtin told WSB that the plan for Phase 2, and stats on Phase 1, were expected to be out in May. That month has come and gone; we checked in again today to ask where things stand. Curtin’s reply:
We’ve adjusted our schedule to coordinate outreach with another SDOT effort that may have implications for 35th Avenue SW – the West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway. As you know, greenways are safer, calmer non-arterial streets prioritized for people walking and biking. We need residents to help us determine the best route for the greenway as well as locations for crossing improvements (the routes identified in the BMP are merely suggestions).
We’re aiming for the week of July 11th or 18th for our first meeting, where we’ll share preliminary data for Phase 1 of the 35th Avenue SW project, start the discussion about the Neighborhood Greenway route, share draft plans for Phase 2 of the 35th Ave SW project, and solicit feedback from residents. We also intend to host walking tours like we did for Phase 1 in August.
As a community-collaborative news organization, we cover many things that start with tips, questions, or other messages. Our followup with Curtin today was inspired by a note from Bob Neel. You might know him as an opponent of the rechannelization; he launched a Change.org petition against it last year. Today, he e-mailed both to wonder about the status of Phase 2 and to ask if we would publish the links to two new petitions he’s started. While there is no way for any online poll or petition to be anything resembling scientific (that’s why we don’t set up our own), he’s interested in comparing results from pro and con petitions.
He writes: “For those who like the lane reduction, here is a petition for SDOT to extend the project. For those who are not in favor of the lane reduction, here is a petition for SDOT to go back to 4 lanes. I have attempted to word each petition in a balanced, neutral way so that there is no inherent bias. I’d really like to see a large response to these petitions so that we can get a representative ‘pulse’ of the neighborhood reaction to the project.”
(If you do choose to sign one – or even if you don’t – consider commenting here to say why!)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s now up to the state Court of Appeals to decide whether to uphold the manslaughter conviction of Lovett Chambers for shooting and killing Travis Hood by Morgan Junction Park in January 2012.
Three Court of Appeals, Division 1 judges and two lawyers – neither of whom were on the original defense/prosecution teams – spent 21 minutes on the case in the COA’s Downtown Seattle chambers this morning.
Chambers was charged with murder while contending self-defense; a King County Superior Court jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter in April 2014 (during which the file photo at left was taken – he was not at today’s hearing), and he is serving an 11 1/2-year sentence.
While his appeal brief (read it here) argues seven points, this morning’s arguments focused on just the first one: The claim that the jury should not have received an instruction about finding him guilty of manslaughter.
He shot to kill, his lawyer David B. Koch argued. Read More
Swing Into Summer 2015
Not all the summer traditions are outside in the sunshine. Just in case you hadn’t seen it in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, the third annual Swing Into Summer swing dance with the West Seattle Big Band @ The Hall at Fauntleroy is now just a week and a half away, on Friday, June 17th, sponsored by the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor), Fauntleroy Church, and the Fauntleroy Community Association. Get your $15 ticket here, and then show up at 6:30 pm for a dance lesson, followed by dancing, listening, and spectating, 7-9 pm. Food and drink concessions will be available from DSquared. Free child care if you put in a request – 206-932-5600 or jackie@fauntleroyucc.org.
(Click to see full-size PDF)
11:17 AM: For the first time since the city Finance and Administrative Services‘ “draft recommendations” about the Myers Way Parcels came out – May 25th, as first reported here – we’re hearing from the group that’s been the loudest voice for keeping the site as open space.
The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition calls FAS’s three-part recommendation (update – here’s the PDF summarizing it) “short-sighted,” saying that the city has been less than thorough in evaluating the site’s ecology and its value, and in reaching out to the community. Here’s its statement:
The 33 acres of Myers Parcels is the largest plot of undeveloped land that the City of Seattle owns. It provides a wide range of benefits for the City of Seattle, and people in the White Center, Highland Park, South Park, Roxbury, Delridge and Georgetown neighborhoods. The City’s Finance & Administrative Services (FAS) Department issued a formal Notice of Excess Property for a large area of Myers Parcels on January 15, 2016. But it only distributed notice to a limited number of people. Then on May 25, 2016, FAS presented its draft recommendation for disposing of Myers acreage at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting.
The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition (SGSC) finds the draft recommendation short-sighted, and calls on FAS to withdraw it. It also calls on FAS to significantly increase engagement with the affected neighborhoods, and to re-assess the Myers Parcels ecology.
The FAS Department’s top-down recommendation runs contrary to Mayor Murray’s Equity and Environmental Action Agenda, which call for grassroots, community-driven planning.
FAS recommends breaking up and selling off parts of Myers Parcels, before it has assessed the current value of this forested area, which contains a watershed with two streams that feed clean water into the Duwamish River.
SGSC is working with numerous individuals and community organizations, such as White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA), Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association and others, to demand robust community engagement, and clear strategies to promote environmental sustainability and social justice.
The FAS recommendation presents nothing new. It does not take into account any of the 400+ comments sent to FAS, nor the more than 800 signers on SGSC’s change.org petition calling for the City to stop the sale until communities are fully involved in the future of this site, and new environmental studies are conducted.
FAS recommends using part of the land immediately south of the Joint Training Facility for an expanded parking lot, selling the flat portion of the site for a commercial warehouse operation, and keeping the unmarketable wetlands and critical slope, with the addition of a possible adventure park on the critical slope above SR 509. FAS does not take into account that Myers Parcels holds origins of Hamm Creek, part of the most fragile link in Chinook Salmon Recovery, and within the Superfund Site of the first five miles of the Duwamish River. Its plan does not keep that watershed healthy, or help to restore the Duwamish River and promote salmon habitat. While we are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to clean up the Duwamish River, it makes no sense to jeopardize this watershed. As a city we should be improving it, not building warehouses around it.
The land has healthy, mature trees that filter water, retain storm water run-off, control erosion, clean the air and help keep the city cool. They create a green buffer for the communities of South Park and White Center. Decreasing the green buffer by selling it for warehouse operations will degrade air quality with increased car and truck pollution. Increased hardscape will also increase stormwater runoff. The inclusion of an adventure park can also potentially degrade the forest and wildlife habitat.
FAS’s recommendation to “slice and dice” this land, selling off parts of it, fails to recognize the land’s value as a whole. In a true “balance,” clean water and clear air would clearly win out over more warehouses that South Park and White Center do not need.
Seattle Green Spaces Coalition demands meaningful community engagement and a valuation of all the benefits this land does and can continue to provide. If we are going to live up to the commitment of the Equity & Environment Action Agenda and our Climate Action Plan, important questions must be answered:
· What is the most environmentally friendly use of the land?
· What is healthiest for the neighborhoods?
· What ecosystem services will the proposed uses provide or reduce?
· Will wildlife habitat be enhanced or reduced?
· Will it be of use and used by the diverse communities?
· What will its value be in the future for different uses?
· How broadly will the land serve diverse community and the City?
· How will it impact the watershed and recovery of the Duwamish River?
· What are the land’s unique features and role in the ecosystem?
· What will be the interplay of planned upland development of housing and the land?
· Who will benefit from commercial development?
· Would alternate uses such as fee activities benefit or exclude neighboring communities?So far, over 850 people have signed Seattle Green Spaces Coalition’s online petition demanding a robust, transparent and inclusive community engagement so that all people can participate in the decision-making process.
The city’s webpage with information about the parcels is here. Two weeks before the draft report came out, we toured part of the site with FAS reps, community members, and City Councilmember Lisa Herbold – see that report here.
ADDED 12:49 PM: We checked back with FAS’s Hillary Hamilton, who provided electronic versions of the draft-recommendations map and summary, both of which you’ll now see above. She says a public meeting is still planned but that they’re not yet ready to finalize the announcement. Meantime, comments are still being taken, she reiterates:
Comments are taken continuously through the review process, and a full report of people’s names and comments will be provided to the City Council before any decision is made. People can send comments at any time; we will acknowledge receipt. Those who contact us can be sure to be on the mailing list for updates. Email or regular postal mail is encouraged to Daniel Bretzke, Real Estate Services, Dept. of Finance and Administrative Services. Email is Daniel.bretzke@seattle.gov. Postal address is Daniel Bretzke, FAS Real Estate Services, P.O. Box 94689, Seattle, WA 98124-4689.
(Violet-green swallow photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Tuesday! Here are a half-dozen highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: One more day of a low-low tide, with sunshine, if you have the chance to get out on the shore and explore at midday. The tide will be out to -2.8 feet at 1:09 pm. Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will be available at Constellation Park (south of Alki Point) and Lincoln Park (near Colman Pool) 10 am-2 pm.
TINY TOTS MEET SENIORS: 10:30-11 am meetup at The Kenney for little ones and seniors to enjoy time together – details in our calendar listing. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
TERMINAL 5 HEARING: If you have something to say about the Port of Seattle’s proposal to upgrade West Seattle’s Terminal 5 as its primary “big ship” terminal, tonight is your first of two chances during the “draft environmental impact statement” stage of the project. The public hearing is happening at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor); another one is planned Thursday in West Seattle – information on both is here. (6737 Corson Ave. S.)
DINE OUT FOR HOPE: Coastline Burgers is donating part of tonight’s proceeds to the DC trip fund for nearby Hope Lutheran School during tonight’s dine-out fundraiser, 5-9 pm. Art sale, too! More info here. (4444 California SW)
INDOOR TENNIS IN WEST SEATTLE? 6-8 pm at Chief Sealth International High School, come hear about – and comment on – the proposal for an indoor-tennis center on the Seattle Public Schools-owned site that now holds outdoor courts just west of Southwest Pool. Organizer Lisa Corbin says the program will start around 6:15 pm and public comments will start around 7:15. Here’s a fact sheet about the project, and a document with FAQs. (2600 SW Thistle)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: 6:30 pm at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, all welcome to join WSBC’s discussion of ongoing issues, events, etc. (4022 SW Alaska)
MORE! for today, tonight, beyond – just check our complete calendar.
(Added: WSB photo)
7:54 AM: Seattle Fire is already scaling back what was a “full response” to a possible house fire in the 9000 block of 39th SW [map] – it’s reported to be a “small electrical fire” that’s already out.
8:05 AM: Our crew is at the scene and confirmed that description of what happened. Remaining fire crews are making one last check of the attic at the house to be sure nothing’s smoldering. No injuries.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:30 AM: Good morning – no incidents in West Seattle or on the major outbound routes so far.
The west end of the West Seattle Bridge will be closed again tonight, 9 pm-5 am, as crews continue re-replacing Fauntleroy Expressway earthquake-safety cushions. Remember that on surface Spokane Street beneath the bridge, you might encounter daytime lane closures too, as setup work is done during the daytime.
6:59 AM: Still quiet. Another reminder: Tonight, 5-8:30 pm, is the first of two public hearings on the draft environmental-impact statement for the Port of Seattle’s proposed Terminal 5 project, at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).
8:48 AM: We’re on the bridge right now (publishing from the passenger seat, of course) on the way downtown for a court hearing, so a quick traffic report: Slowdown starts just before the crest. We’re headed for the 4th Avenue S. exit, our preferred way to get into downtown.
After two years, it’s down to 20 minutes.
That’s the total amount of time allotted for both sides to make their respective cases tomorrow when they argue for and against the appeal of Lovett Chambers, the Gatewood man convicted two years ago of manslaughter for the Morgan Junction shooting death of Travis Hood.
Though the verdict itself was a charge reduced from the one with which Chambers, now 71, had been charged – second-degree murder – his appeal challenges it and six other points. The written arguments by Chambers’ lawyers say jurors shouldn’t have been instructed that manslaughter was an option, because there was no “factual basis for that charge.” They also argue that the search of Chambers’ home the night of the shooting was illegal.
Chambers has never denied killing Hood, who was 36, but contended that it was self-defense. He was sentenced to 11 1/2 years and has been behind bars now for 4 1/2 years, since the night of the shooting in January 2012. Tuesday’s oral arguments are on the morning docket for a three-judge panel of the State Court of Appeals meeting in Seattle.
(WSB photo)
The 80 “zone” signs installed on the West Seattle Bridge this past weekend comprise one of four projects SDOT has added to the action list for the West Seattle Bridge-Duwamish Waterway Corridor, a list originally shepherded by WS-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen during his final year in office, following the WS Transportation Coalition‘s 2014 list of priorities.. As our area’s first-ever elected-by-district Councilmember, Lisa Herbold has picked up the ball and run with it, and has just announced the release of the newest document in the project, a progress report (technically, the SDOT response to the council’s Statement of Legislative Intent).
When Councilmember Herbold announced on Friday that the progress report was out, it wasn’t available yet in digital format, but now it is – see the full progress report here – and the link’s been added to her online post about it. In that post, her overview of the progress report includes:
The report lists work completed so far, estimated costs for the 27 projects mentioned in the Whitepaper; implementation status, though some are listed as TBD (to be determined); which agency has primary and implementation responsibility for each project; resources directed so far, and timetables.
Here’s the table listing those 27 projects, in case you can’t remember them all:
Councilmember Herbold’s overview continues:
Of the 27 projects mentioned in the Whitepaper, SDOT proposes to focus on the 15 projects in the Primary West Seattle Bridge/Spokane Street Viaduct corridor (See map). In addition, SDOT added four projects from after the publication of the whitepaper in 2015, including installing additional locational markers on the bridge.
The report provides data for corridor traffic trends. Of note is that the West Seattle Bridge carried an average of 107,300 vehicles per weekday, and 29,300 transit riders. In 2015, there were 56 collisions on the bridge and the Spokane Street Viaduct, and 117 “incidents”, which averaged 47 minutes in duration.
The report notes the $500,000 approved by the Council in 2015 for Intelligent Transportation Systems improvements will mostly be finished by 2016, with the rest scheduled for 2017.
Also included are cost estimates and grant application status for the South Lander Street Grade Separation and RR Safety Project.
SDOT proposes to exclude some projects from future whitepaper reports, including 4th Ave Transit Ramp to Spokane Viaduct, Delridge Way Rapid Ride Transit, and Sound Transit expansion (which is subject to a public vote). This may be worth additional discussion.
Primarily, SDOT writes in the progress report, the items it suggests leaving out of future reports are items that are in other agencies’ jurisdictions, and/or outside the main bridge corridor. Here’s that list:
(It doesn’t mean they’re being shelved – just that SDOT wants to concentrate its tracking on the others.) Back to the list of four added projects we mentioned at the start of this update: Besides the “zone” signs on the bridge, the list includes repair and painting projects for the “low bridge” (South Spokane Street Swing Bridge), plus the Fauntleroy Expressway earthquake-cushion re-replacement work that is already under way.
What happens next? In addition to SDOT proceeding with the project list, it’s asking for the release of $100,000 – a pre-planned amount – for more traffic studies. Its revised timeline grid, on the last page of the project report, stretches as far out as 2022 (for studying another railroad crossover beyond Lander) and TBD (for “freight-only lanes on Lower Spokane,” “bicycle connection on W. Marginal,” and “Terminal 5 overpass to Alki Trail”). As pointed out in our previous reports on the project list, it’s mostly incremental; the only real big-ticket item is the Lander Street Bridge (which, reminder, has an open house event this Wednesday in SODO) – no ramp widening from the bridge to 99, for example.
P.S. Pages 9 and 10 of the report are where you’ll find the full data table that Councilmember Herbold mentions, with key numbers about local commuting, freight, and more.
At City Hall this afternoon, councilmembers voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that “prohibits rent increases on properties with unsafe housing-code violations,” as described by the announcement from the bill’s sponsor, Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who proposed it last year with then-Councilmember Nick Licata. All the documents related to the ordinance are here. From the slide deck, here’s how it works:
• Landlord provides written notice of a rent increase
• Tenant must respond in writing within ten days and describe defective conditions
• Landlord can cure the problem any time before rent increase is set to take effect.
• Tenant or Landlord may call SDCI to request inspection any time before effective date of rent increase
• If SDCI inspects and finds RRIO checklist failures, then rent increase delayed until defective condition is remedied
It will take effect 30 days after Mayor Murray signs it.
(Photo courtesy Michelle Taylor: Taproot students attend to a bag dispenser in Fauntleroy Park)
What Fauntleroy Creek/Watershed volunteers did in 2004 and 2008, students from Taproot School are doing now, according to watershed/creek steward Judy Pickens:
Continuing concern about pet waste left in Fauntleroy Park prompted students at Taproot School to take on the 2016 Poop Study.
The study documents the number and location of pet waste along a segment of trail in Fauntleroy Park that’s popular with dog walkers. After a baseline count earlier this spring, the students are reaching out to dog owners with information about why picking up after their pet is important and making compliance easy with free bags.
Located in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse Community Center, Taproot School makes almost daily use of the park as an extension of classroom learning for its 27 (K-5) students. Run in 2004 and again in 2008, the study initiated by the Fauntleroy Watershed Council aims to reduce the level of fecal coliform bacteria that Fauntleroy Creek conveys into Puget Sound.
Students will do a second count in July and a third in September, then compile their report, with an emphasis on what more they recommend doing to get dog walkers to scoop.
In West Seattle Crime Watch today:
ART THEFT: Artist Rebecca Woodhouse is asking you to be on the lookout for her stolen artwork. It’s an unusual theft case: She shipped 4 boxes containing 6 linocut-paintings to Ventura, California, for an art show and included the return shipping labels. The gallery didn’t tell her the work had been shipped back, and when it arrived at a mailing center here, it had someone else’s name on the labels. She says the center called that person, who then picked up the items and signed for them. She has been trying to reach that person for more than a week and since the messages have not been returned, it’s now being treated as a theft. “I was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt; he didn’t know what they were, took them home, works a lot, and didn’t prioritize calling the mailing center or the people who sent the boxes, but enough time went by, and with all the phone calls, it’s crossed the line to theft. The officer said it himself.” She says her name is on all of the art. We couldn’t post all the photos here so she has collected them on this page of her website as a gallery of stolen art. Let her and SPD know if you have information.
SEEN THIS MATH HOMEWORK? From another Rebecca, a car break-in report, with missing math homework:
Sometime between 5 pm Sunday and 6:45 this morning our car was broken into, and a blanket and 2 backpacks were taken from the back. One had school books, one had basic medical supplies in it (icy-hot spray and bandages for sports injuries). I am sure we left a back window open too far (it was hot!! we were tired). How they didn’t set off an alarm interests me, but so it goes.
Learning lesson, but also wishing there was a collection point for “oops, we stole some stuff that is of no use to us, so we can drop it here judgment free, since a semester of math homework probably means more to somone else than it sells for on the street.”
A police report is on file.
PACKAGE PROWLERS: The photo and report are from Patrick:
This is a photo of a package prowler I saw entering my neighbor’s yard as I was returning from work on Friday around 5:30 PM. This was on 34th between Webster and Holden in the Sunrise Heights neighborhood. The neighbor had packages and my wife had seen them driving slowly, stopping, and reversing back to the house. African American female driver, white tank top, African American male companion. Both late twenties to early forties. Car was a ’90s Chrysler or Dodge. Suspension completely blown, loud distinct rattle. Trunk appeared unlatched. Moments after posting this photo to the neighborhood FB page, another neighbor reported seeing the same car attempting to take a package before being confronted. It should be noted these people were doing this at 530, when most people are returning from work, with witnesses outside. Very brazen and most likely desperate. … Call 911 if you see suspicious behavior.
You might have heard about the big regional earthquake-preparedness drill that’s under way in a variety of places all week. Here’s how you can help: Join your West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs volunteers this Saturday! Above is the map of all “hubs” – explained here – in West Seattle, but just one needs volunteer help – read on!
Come see what your community is doing to be prepared in the event of a major disaster. Join us in a simulated earthquake neighborhood response drill of the Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs.
We would love for you to stop by as a “put me to work” volunteer or as a Citizen Actor (to give us tasks to perform, you will draw a short script from our bowl of misfortunes). This will help test how we accomplish our mission and to help you learn how you can be ready to help in the event of a disaster!Participating Hub drill location in West Seattle:
Neighborhood House High Point Center
6400 Sylvan Way SW
9:30 am – 11:30 am
Also on Saturday, separate from the simulation, but ready to meet neighbors and talk preparedness:
New Hub location holding an open-house booth:
Hope Lutheran Church
4456 42nd Ave SW
9:00 am – noon
New Hub! Info table onlyFor more information about how to be prepared and what the hubs do, visit us at West Seattle Be Prepared.
Sunday morning’s garage fire behind a house just south of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (WSB coverage here) burned big – as that photo from a neighbor showed – and briefly. We checked with Seattle Fire this morning to see what its investigator found out about the cause; SFD spokesperson Corey Orvold tells WSB that the fire was ruled accidental, sparked by “improperly discarded charcoal briquets.” No one was hurt, but the fire also burned a tree and damaged a car.
(Crab photographed during weekend low tide by Jamie Kinney)
Good morning! Highlights for this first Monday in June, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: The tide’s out as far today as it was on Sunday – today at 12:24 pm, it’ll again be out to -3.2 feet. So you’ll find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists out again at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park, 9:30 am-1:30 pm.
WESTWOOD-ROXHILL-ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY COUNCIL: 6:15 pm at Southwest Library, drop by to see and hear what your community council is up to. As previewed here last night, scheduled topics include improvements for the SW Barton crossing at the RapidRide stop and the upcoming Find It, Fix It Walk in the Roxhill area. Everybody’s welcome. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
WEST SEATTLE HI-YU: 7 pm at Admiral Congregational Church, Hi-Yu members and supporters meet as summer’s busy season approaches. (California SW/SW Hill)
QUIZ NIGHT: 7:30 pm at The Skylark, free, all ages. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
SONGWRITER SHOWCASE: 8 pm, no cover, at Parliament Tavern. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
EVENT TO SHARE VIA THE WSB CALENDAR? Go there to see how!
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