West Seattle, Washington
14 Thursday
Thanks to PS for snagging and sending that photo this morning. As we reported last weekend, the Charlestown Cafe finally has its permit to proceed with the work needed to get the restaurant back in shape after fire damage closed it in February, and then co-owner Larry Mellum told us a few days later that we wouldn’t see a lot of site activity immediately because the new hood is being built offsite. He’s hoping to reopen next month sometime; a lot of CC fans are anxiously awaiting that, like PS, whose e-mail accompanying the photo included: “… activity this morning at Webster’s! At last! Mmmmmmmm. French toast!” (Reminder, you can find out the latest on the CC situation any time by going to the WSB Categories list down the right sidebar and clicking Charlestown Cafe; WSB Categories archive all coverage that we filed under those categories, in newest-first order – you can also use the links next to their titles to add specific categories to your RSS reader, if you read WSB that way.)
That photo is courtesy of Aviva with Community Harvest of West Seattle, which held its first container-vegetable-growing class at White Center Food Bank (which serves part of southern West Seattle) on Wednesday. Aviva sent us this report, including something you can do to help future classes like this:
Participants learned that with a sunny deck or patio, fresh vegetables could be grown and harvested our their back doors. Lettuce Link and West Seattle’s Backyard Greenhouse provided starts ranging from common leaf lettuce to exotic raddichio. Containers and soil were donated by individuals and local businesses (West Seattle Nursery, Junction True Value). We hope that this class improves access to the 5-a-day and increases self-reliance in obtaining healthy foods. We hope to continue this program and are soliciting donations of pots (1-5 gallon) – plastic or other lightweight material. For more info: info@gleanit.org
And as we mentioned Wednesday night, a big effort to improve local access to not only healthy food but more fitness options is under way in the form of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, with Delridge/White Center as an area of emphasis. Wednesday night’s update came with a brainstorming session at the monthly Delridge District Council meeting; read on for the latest:Read More
(video no longer available because of blip.tv shutdown)
Toward the end of that video clip sent by a reader who lives just west of Morgan Junction, you can clearly see that the coyote in the clip is limping. Here’s a photo with a closer look at the coyote as it rests:
The reader tried calling the state Fish and Wildlife Department but couldn’t get through to anyone; it so happens that another reader had written us earlier this week about an injured coyote in what she described as “the Fauntleroy greenbelt” — not sure if it’s the same one — and while she did get through to the state, here’s what she was told:
Of course the Washington Fish and Wildlife said there is nothing they can do, we have to let nature take its course. Sad to say that as much as I do not like them in my yard, I felt really bad for the coyote, if it is serious he will likely die a slow death by starvation.
The Fish/Wildlife Department has a page with tons of info about coyotes and coexisting with them, but nothing about policy for dealing with ones that are hurt. We did find some information at the PAWS site advising calling in a “licensed wildlife rehabilitator” – the ones in this region are listed here; none are based nearby, and there’s no coyote-specific information to be found.
We’ve followed up from time to time on the aftermath of the February 26th Westwood incident in which two pit bulls attacked a man and his Chihuahua, and then were shot by police (original WSB report here; followup with police-report narrative here). One pit bull died that night; the other was seized by the Seattle Animal Shelter. During our followup calls, SAS executive director Don Jordan had told us the dogs’ owner faced citations and possibly a criminal charge (March 3 update here; April 10 update here). The second dog’s fate depended on what happened with those cases. Jordan just called WSB to let us know the case is closed because the owner agreed to have the second dog euthanized. “We wanted to make sure that dog was off the street,” Jordan said. The civil citations and possible criminal charge are not being pursued, according to Jordan, because of that agreement, and also because the victim did not want to press charges or even give a written statement. Jordan had told us previously that this owner had a history of trouble involving other dogs, not these; we asked, so does that mean any restrictions can be put on his right to own or license dogs in the future? Not in this case, he said, noting that even in cases where people are found guilty of crimes involving animals and judges decide to impose such restrictions, they can never be prohibited from ownership for a period longer than 2 years. “That can be frustrating for us,” he acknowledged.
Just reported by the P-I. We knew Adrian Dillard and Ted Coxwell were to be sentenced today in the notorious bilking case (each got one year, but Coxwell had already served that time since he didn’t bail out prior to his trial) but we couldn’t be there in person; seems prosecutors also revealed more charges to come. (Previous WSB coverage: January 30 report on Dillard/Coxwell verdicts; January 4 report on Paul Rimbey sentencing.) 4 PM ADDITION: KIRO site has video from today’s hearing.
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
(Updated 12:51 pm with that short video peek inside the new restaurant) We dropped in quickly a short time ago to verify a tip that Spring Hill in The Junction is about to open, and indeed, they tell us tonight is opening night, open for dinner 7 nights a week, 5:45 pm-midnight. (Previous WSB coverage: January Q&A with owner here, sneak peek inside last month is here, and just for the historical record, our very first mention it was coming was November 9, 2006.) EARLY SATURDAY P.S.: Note the comment just posted from a self-identified insider, including menu excerpts.
From High Point’s newly revamped website – word of a Seattle City Light alert that dozens of High Point addresses will be without power for about 10 hours starting at 7:30 tomorrow morning, because of transformer work. Here’s the alert, with a link to a list of addresses to be affected, all of whom already should have been directly notified by SCL.
That’s Alki resident Steve Cuddy, explaining to city planning reps tonight why a fence in front of the proposed 5-unit development at 59th/Stevens (city project page here) would dangerously limit visibility for people crossing 59th to Alki Playfield or Elementary. Neighbors gathered at the Admiral library branch for a meeting called because they gathered signatures to demand one.
We’ve told you before about the controversy over this development, most recently when it was discussed at last week’s Alki Community Council meeting (WSB coverage here). The lot is about 7500 square feet, with one single-family home on it now, and a plan to tear that down to make way for two houses plus a three-unit townhouse building:
Most neighbors say they’re not opposed to development at the site, but they have concerns about this plan. In addition to the visibility concerns discussed by Cuddy in the video clip above, they are worried about the shadows they say the 3-story buildings will cast on Alki Playfield and Playground, and they believe those shadows might be a violation of city codes. (See the codes by scrolling to section Q here; also, here’s a gallery of diagrams and photos collected by neighbors at this site, including photos showing how narrow the street can be; neighbor Laura Chassagne says it’s in effect a one-way street at many times of the day.) The alley to the west also is a concern (same one where we showed you then-newly installed speed-limit signs in January), with beach cruisers often using it as a shortcut, and fears that added housing units will mean added clutter with trash, recycling, and yard-waste containers. Another area resident, Steve Turpin, expressed further concerns about whether the existing house, built in 1925, has been assessed for possible toxics concerns when it’s torn down, given its proximity to the playground, playfield, and school. City planners will review this input before ruling on the proposal — you can send them comments by clicking the link next to “Public Involvement” atop this page. (Also worth noting again, the house and land, currently owned by West Seattle-based Cobb Construction, is back on the market.)
Almost every week for the past few months, we’ve walked into Room 145 at Chief Sealth High School and sat down with two of the students in Sam Reed‘s Web Design II class to talk over a project that was part of an ambitious effort he launched this semester — pairing student teams with small-business proprietors to create websites in a real vendor/client type of atmosphere. (He asked WSB last November to put out the call for small-business volunteers, and got more than three dozen responses!) Tonight, Reed organized a reception for the students, their families, and the “clients” to see the sites unveiled — here’s how it went:Read More
This time last night, 35th/Holden Chevron was at $3.99/gallon for regular, which wasn’t the highest in West Seattle, since we’d noted earlier that Barnecut’s Shell was the first WS station to break $4/regular, at $4.03 by midday yesterday. In the past 24 hours, however, 35th/Holden has pumped that price up a full dime … as you can see at left. Don’t know if it’s the highest in WS at the moment as we haven’t done a full survey, but gave us a double-take.
We reported last week that, after asking the Parks Department for comment from superintendent Tim Gallagher on why a skate feature was suddenly on the back burner for the Myrtle Reservoir park as of the public meeting three weeks ago, we finally got a sort of form letter back, and were continuing to pursue comment. A short time ago, we finally talked with Gallagher by phone — he says there’s a meeting next week involving the “skate community” and if they are enthusiastic about the prospects of a High Point skatepark — the other West Seattle site (besides Myrtle) mentioned in the citywide Skatepark Plan as a possible location (they’re just a block apart, as shown in the photo above) — that could move forward relatively quickly. Here’s what else he had to say:Read More
Just got word of a unique competition at Chief Sealth High School tonight and an invitation for you to attend — 120 students from Sealth, Ballard, and Franklin High Schools are competing in the final round of the Seattle Academy of Finance’s Annual 
Case Competition. Working in 4-person teams, the students got a “business case” six days ago and have had to work to solve it – tonight, they present their proposals to corporate and faculty judges. It’s happening 7:30 pm in the Sealth “Little Auditorium.” (Read the full news release here.) Just so happens part of Team WSB was already going to be at Sealth tonight for a smaller event celebrating a project we told you about last November – business teacher Sam Reed‘s Web Design students have been designing websites for volunteer small-business participants (including a side project we had been contemplating) and tonight, with those participants on hand as well as their families, the students unveil their work. We’ll be there to cover both.
One of the distinctive art features at Fauntleroy’s Cove Park, the little pocket of public waterfront immediately north of the ferry dock, is missing from its perch today (photos added 1:50 pm). It’s a raven that looks over the beach as part of the depiction of a legend about how the sun was created. Overnight, someone apparently knocked the raven down. Gary Dawson of the Fauntleroy Community Association, which maintains Cove Park, says a State Patrol officer called him around 7:45 this morning to say he had the raven — brought to him by someone who found it in the sand. He’s keeping it right now while repairs are strategized and showed it to us a short time ago – it appears to have been broken off right where it was attached to its perch:
Artist Tom Jay sculpted the raven for Cove Park, where it was installed in 2000, the year the park was dedicated. The Fauntleroy Community Association has reported the apparent vandalism to police.
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
2 1/2 months after we first told you about West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen‘s renewed push to try to ease rush-hour traffic by keeping the low bridge (Spokane Street Swing Bridge) from opening during certain times of the day, the proposal is now officially open for your comments, and the clock is ticking toward a decision. As the U.S. Coast Guard‘s regional bridge commander Austin Pratt had explained in our followups (coverage here and here), a two-month comment period was to open as soon as notice of the proposed rule change was published in the Federal Register; he just called to let us (and you) know that the notice was published today, triggering the start of a public-comment period lasting until July 21st. He also sent a copy of the relevant pages of the Federal Register; see them here. Excerpted from that, the specific rule language is as follows:
The proposed rule would enable the Seattle Department of Transportation
(SDOT), the owner of the Spokane Street Bridge, to keep the draws of that bridge in the closed position in order to help alleviate roadway traffic Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the proviso that openings shall be provided at any time for vessels of 5000 gross tons or more.
Whether you want to express support for this or opposition, what’s REALLY important now is following the official procedure for commenting (there’s also an official procedure for requesting a public meeting on this) – read on for those specifics:Read More
Several major items on the agenda tonight as the Delridge District Council — representatives of neighborhood groups and other organizations in eastern West Seattle — gathered at the Southwest Precinct for its monthly meeting. We’re breaking them up into a few separate reports, starting tonight with two items — a Seattle City Light rep’s revelations about street lights (what to do about them and what it means when one flickers), and more details about what’s coming up during the gala Delridge Day festival later this month, including a new free “Art Lending Library” to be introduced that day:Read More
The police car shown in that video clip, and a pickup truck, suffered notable left-front-end damage after a collision within the past hour at the curve just uphill/south from the Fauntleroy ferry dock; map here. (Thanks to the cell-phone tipster who texted us with word of this.) Traffic is flowing past the scene again, and a tow truck was there while we were there; no info on the circumstances but officers at the scene told us “everyone is OK” and the fact no medic units were called out seems to underscore that. THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: According to police Lt. Steve Paulsen, the crash happened while police were responding “to a disturbance at Lincoln Park” and is blamed on slick roads. He confirms all involved are OK.
So says this post on the blog kept by neighboring Chill, which also mentions the pickup driver helped with the cleanup.
That’s the sign in Ron Richardson‘s yard along Fauntleroy across from Lincoln Park, which he updates with the
death and injury toll in the Iraq war. We’ve told you about it before; our most recent post, and comments on it, led to coverage in the citywide media. Richardson introduced himself to us at our table at the recent Sustainable West Seattle Festival in The Junction, and told us he’d added a new number to his sign, in honor of an area resident killed in the war in 2005, Christopher Dickison (photo right). Here’s his story of how that happened — timely as Memorial Day approaches:
The most important response [to the sign], by far, came three weeks ago when a woman and several of her family knocked at my door. The woman, Leanna Dickison, wanted to thank me for having the sign. She told me that her son, Christopher Wayne Dickison, was fatality number 1754. Christopher’s twin sister Rhonda Herrera was part of the group. Chris’ mother had made a blanket as a gift for me. I thanked her and suggested she take the blanket to the VA Hospital and present it to one of the Iraq vets at the VA.
I have since visited Leanna and learned more about Christopher. The family lives in White Center. Christopher was a graduate of Evergreen High. He joined the military in 2002. He was in Iraq for a year when his tour of duty was extended. It was during this extension that Chris was killed. I looked up Chris’s name on the internet and found articles and memory pages by those who knew him as a friend, a relative and as a comrade in arms. This reminded me that the internet can be a rallying place for folks to share their respect and love.
I have attached a current photo of the sign, a photo of Chris and a list of some of the websites that memorialize Chris. I have added the number 1754 on the sign and it will stay there. Each time I change the other numbers I will remember Chris and his family. They are our neighbors and part of our community. As folks spot my sign I hope they remember Chris and all of the others killed and wounded in Iraq. I also think about this war and why we are fighting it. I hope your readers think upon this as well.
Here are the links that Ron provided: a page featuring citywide media coverage from Christopher’s death in 2005, a guestbook that he has signed and you can too, and a video tribute posted online.
Side note: Richardson also is involved with another issue right now — voter-owned elections — and told us he’ll be speaking about that at tonight’s Delridge District Council meeting (7 pm, Southwest Precinct).
If you hadn’t already heard: Registration is open for the second annual BizJam Seattle conference for “indie” businesses, presented by Biznik (motto: “business networking that doesn’t suck”) – and again this year, it’s happening in West Seattle, at Youngstown Arts Center. This time around, it’ll span two days – Day 1, July 9, will focus on what small businesses need to know about “social media.” Read more about BizJam here (disclosure, we’re speaking at BizJam; in the year since the last BizJam, we’ve become an “indie” business ourselves). Speaking of social media, you can find us on Twitter as westseattleblog and on Facebook as WS Blog — we also just set up a West Seattle Blog group there.
… the city is trying to do it with a new campaign called “Give Your Car the Summer Off.” (Official news release here.) One of the related webpages says the city will identify certain streets that can be closed to cars for a while at different times during the summer. Any street(s) in West Seattle where you think that would work?
That’s a recent photo of Longfellow Creek Garden, the small organic garden/farm that is taking shape in North Delridge (first reported here last month). Zach Zink wrote us a while back inviting people to come help with getting LCG in shape, and got quite a response. Now he’s asking for help with a new challenge for this nonprofit operation: “We are in need of a certified plumber to install a few pieces of equipment so we can have an irrigation faucet at the Garden. Our budget is pretty low this year, and getting water installed is going to run us between 500 and 700 dollars. Saving on labor would help us out to the tune of 200 dollars!” If you can help or know someone who might be able to, e-mail Zach at zach@growingwashington.org.
Good turnout last night for the monthly West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting at the Southwest Precinct — including folks who took advantage of the opportunity to directly ask local police leadership about issues in their neighborhood (one attendee was looking for followup on a burglary at his house; the Community Police Team is putting him in touch with detectives). We already reported one update from the meeting last night; here’s what else was discussed, including the briefing on “casing”:Read More
First of at least two reports from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting — Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen had a little information about the mother and son shot in their Delridge duplex last week. He said both are doing OK; no one in custody right now but a possible “person of interest” was detained, then released pending further investigation. He also said the shooting was not random – the mother was definitely targeted, not sure about the 10-year-old son. Other news from tonight’s meeting included the promised briefing on “casing” (no revelations but good reminders) and plans for WSCSP’s first Officer Appreciation Day at the precinct. More on all that in the morning.
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