West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photo from February 21st meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center)
One week after interested residents gathered to hear firsthand about the plan for a Delridge Neighborhood Greenway – first one in West Seattle – the graphics and Q/A are all online, so you can see them and find out more about the greenway plan, even if you missed the meeting. The graphics show the planned route – from the north end of Delridge by the bridge, turning onto 26th from Andover, and heading south to Graham – while the Q/A document details how the greenway will work. For example: Stop signs on side streets that intersect with it; no bike lanes, but sharrows would be used (and on eastbound Andover, bicyclists will be routed onto the “wide sidewalk” to avoid truck traffic); no new sidewalks, but there’s a chance to designate set-aside pedestrian areas. This will be the first greenway in West Seattle, with completion expected before the year’s over; the area to be studied for a second one is expected to be further east, along 21st SW.
P.S. What’s a greenway, you ask? An alternative route with safety features focused on walking and biking, as explained on the project page.
(Sunset, looking northwest over Harbor Island, by Don Brubeck)
Four highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar listings for today/tonight:
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library – details and map here.
FREE JOB-SEARCH WORKSHOP: South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) continues to offer free workshops to help jobseekers. Today at 4:30 pm, resumés are the focus. Details here.
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Big agenda for HPAC, 7 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden), including Food Lifeline’s update on their plans for the site that hosts the encampment that calls itself Nickelsville, plus a Seattle Parks update on Westcrest Park; more details in our calendar listing.
POEMS AND STORYTELLING: The monthly reading at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) features Roberto Ascalon and Thaddeus Gunn at 7 pm, followed by open-mike readings (signups at 6:45 pm). Full details at poetrybridge.net.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 7:48 AM: Thanks to those who messaged us early this morning about a SWAT operation just after 6 am in the 7300 block of 16th SW (map). Neighbors heard loud noises – suspected to be the “flash-bang” type of devices often used in SWAT operations – and say they saw one person handcuffed. Only a Bellevue Police vehicle was visible when we arrived; Seattle Police say they were “assisting another agency.” We have a message out to Bellevue PD and will add anything more we find out.
9:40 AM UPDATE: Just talked to Bellevue PD spokesperson Officer Carla Iafrate. She says BPD’s Special Enforcement Team arrested five people – four men and a 15-year-old girl – in connection with an “ID-theft ring (that has) several victims from Bellevue.” Their investigation “led us to this house in West Seattle,” and SWAT was used to get into the house for searching and arresting because of “some intel about possible firearms or (about) one of the individuals,” requiring “extra safety.” Officer Iafrate adds that BPD “collected a lot of evidence at the house, and the detective and officers are going to be weeding through that.” She adds that the team at the scene was thanked by several neighbors – not an everyday occurrence, she notes – who had been aware something was going on there for some time.
12:15 PM UPDATE: Bellevue Police’s official news release is out. The only thing in it that we haven’t already reported is that there may be some non-Bellevue victims. Full text in this PDF.
5:13 PM UPDATE: This photo is courtesy of our friends at KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, who asked permission to use one of our photos from this morning and shared this in return:
That’s some of the evidence displayed by Bellevue PD, according to KIRO, which says it constitutes “close to 200 credit cards, some driver licenses, checks (some altered). Laptops and cell phones,” with “dozens of victims from Bellevue, Seattle, Bonney Lake, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila, Tacoma, and Bainbridge.” And they tell us the 15-year-old girl who was taken into custody was a runaway wanted in connection with something unrelated, not the alleged ID-theft ring.
6:29 AM: Firefighters have responded to a house-fire call in the 8600 block of 9th SW. We’re on the way to find out what’s happening.
6:37 AM: The call has closed on the 911 log and no crews remain, so apparently nothing major.
9:14 AM: We checked with SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore, who explains: “It was an overheated potato in the microwave.” Smoke, but no fire.
P.S. Moore points out that cooking food, left unwatched, is the #1 cause of residential fires.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Second-to-last day of February – here’s a look at the West Seattle Bridge (above) and 99 (below) cams:
Thanks in advance for traffic updates if you encounter something your West Seattle neighbors should know about – 206-293-6302 if you are able to safely/legally text or call; Twitter works too – we’re at @westseattleblog.
CLOSURES AHEAD: Quick reminders – the Viaduct/99 is closed all day Saturday plus Sunday morning (but open Saturday night so you can get to and from the Sounders game) – details here; the Delridge/Trenton weekend intersection closure will be preceded by a block of Trenton closing Thursday – details here.
P.S. We almost forgot – one more closure this weekend; mentioned it last week but haven’t brought it up again this week. The ramp to southbound I-5 will be closed this weekend too, as part of the WSDOT repair project that’s been closing various ramps at the Spokane St. Interchange on various weekends.
The volunteer power helping with last night’s free Seattle Symphony concert at Chief Sealth International High School included members of the Key Club at Sealth. Second from right in the back row is Shari Sewell from the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, which presented the concert; Key Club members’ responsibilities last night included assisting concert guests by distributing programs. They’re busy year-round with numerous service projects.
(First two photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
7:45 PM: House-fire call (35th and Cloverdale) drawing the big response right now. More to come.
8 PM: 35th is closed both ways at the fire scene in the 8600 block of 35th SW. Smoke is visible.
8:05 PM: Additional medics were dispatched to the scene; WSB’s Patrick Sand is there and tells us medics can be seen checking out one person so far.
8:10 PM: Medics now checking out two people and trying to determine how many people were in the house. Neighbors tell us it is occupied by “many.” Other neighbors say it was converted to a triplex a while back.
(This photo and next one are by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
8:21 PM: Our crew got an update at the scene. Six people in the house; two were checked out but are not expected to need to be taken to the hospital. The fire is believed to have originated in the basement, though the cause hasn’t been sorted out yet – that’s where the smoke was coming from. 35th SW remains closed from Thistle to Trenton but should be open within an hour or so, authorities believe.
9 PM: Adding photos (including one to replace our original cameraphone picture). Two bearded dragons were rescued from the house, according to this comment from Glenda, who says they and their person need a little help:
The house that burned on 35th & Cloverdale was the home of 2 Bearded Dragons (1 Male / 1 female). Their person got them out, but their set-up is inside & they aren’t allowed to go in for it. If anyone out there has a couple of old glass aquariums & a couple of heat lamps to get them through the night it would be very much appreciated. I’ll watch for responses and give directions.
The Red Cross also has been called in to help the fire victims, according to SFD.
9:12 PM: Southbound 35th SW is opening, per the scanner. Northbound will remain closed TFN.
11:16 PM: Drove by a short time ago to check – 35th is now fully open, and the fire scene is clear. SFD, meantime, has tweeted the fire’s cause: “West Seattle triplex basement fire caused by overheated electrical cord. Damage estimate is $125k to structure, $25k to contents.”
The photo is courtesy of the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which heard today from Linda Nageotte, CEO of Food Lifeline, regarding its proposal for a new facility on the site that currently houses the encampment that calls itself Nickelsville, but primarily about the organization’s main job, as Rotary publicity chair Dave Nichols notes:
She talked about all the great things Food Lifeline conducts to help people who need help. A couple of facts that stuck out:
*97 cents of every dollar is spent on feeding people
*1 in 4 children in our community is at risk of being hungry
For an update on the Nickelsville-site plan, join the Highland Park Action Committee at its meeting tomorrow night. As the closest community council to the encampment, they’ve discussed it more than a few times, and will hear from Food Lifeline tomorrow (Wednesday) night. The meeting’s at 7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club HQ (12th/Holden), all welcome.
Two neighborhoods with multiple car prowls are among the newest reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch. From Tommy:
Over the last week, there have been at least two vehicles with broken windows. One was a minivan near SW Juneau St and 25th Ave SW (first a broken front window, then the next night all side windows were broken).
This morning, walking my dog, I saw a neighbor on the 5400 block of 26th Ave SW picking broken glass out of her car door. She said that overnight, someone broke out the window, then stole nothing. Just wanted to get it out there in case someone sees something.
(added) CM sent word of this car break-in, not far from Tommy’s area:
My car was broken into early Sunday morning in the 4800 block of Delridge. Police said it looked like they were trying to hot wire it – damage to the ignition. Hard pressed to afford the repairs.
(back to original report) And this report from Fauntleroy:
Wanted to report several car prowls early Saturday morning 2/23 on Director St. at the bottom below 45th Ave SW.
At least 3 cars were broken into sometime between 2 am and 4 am, all parked in residence driveways. Small items were taken, and in one case, and expensive stereo/navigation unit was hacked out of the dashboard.
Police were notified and reports filed. If anyone else in the adjacent area was affected, please let us know. We’re wondering how far-reaching and organized this might have been.
Ahead, two more reader reports – a patio theft, and a “suspicious person” situation that might not have been a crime, but yielded some advice that a witness wants to share with you:
(Looking westward at the bus stop/future curb location, from the westbound Fauntleroy lane east of California)
If you use the Fauntleroy/California intersection in Morgan Junction, you know the “bus bulbs” that accompanied the RapidRide C Line debut last fall have led to some changes in the flow of other vehicle traffic. That in turn is leading SDOT to make another change at the intersection, as just announced to community leaders, who were invited to forward it to anyone they “deem(ed) appropriate,” so it found its way to us:
As a part of the city goal to improve Seattle’s walk, bike and bus transportation alternatives, the Seattle Department of Transportation, working in conjunction with King County Metro Transit, will be installing a safety curb in the street on the west leg of the intersection of Fauntleroy Way SW and California Avenue SW. The work will begin this Thursday, February 28, and is expected to take about two days to complete.
The yellow raised concrete curb will be installed between the opposing east and westbound lanes of Fauntleroy Way SW, adjacent to the westbound Metro bus stop. (See attached map for exact location.) The new permanent concrete curb will provide an additional indication to drivers that there is only one (1) westbound lane on Fauntleroy Way SW, west of California Avenue SW.
In 2012, as part of the improvements made for Rapid Ride bus service, a number of bus bulbs were installed in West Seattle for the C Line route. With a bulb, the bus simply stops in the travel lane instead of pulling in and out of traffic. This makes the bus service faster. However, at this particular location some drivers are crossing the center line to pass the bus, which has them driving in the oncoming eastbound left turn lane. In particular, drivers traveling southbound on California turning westbound onto Fauntleroy may not be able to see around buses serving the westbound bus stop, and may unexpectedly encounter oncoming eastbound vehicles. The raised curb is intended to deter such potential conflicts.
In addition to making the bus service faster, bus bulbs provide more space for passenger amenities – like shelters, benches, and real-time bus arrival signs – and the added waiting space helps keep sidewalks clear for pedestrians. However, bus bulbs can delay other traffic behind a loading bus. Motorists are reminded that buses typically spend 20 seconds or less serving each stop, and they are encouraged to build this slight additional travel time into their schedules in the interest of safety.
Here’s the map mentioned in the announcement. Meantime, we have a message out to SDOT to ask some questions, including whether this is being planned or considered anywhere else along the RapidRide route; we’re also hoping for a better visualization of what it will look like.
In case you hadn’t seen it in the comments section by now: Falafel Salam‘s West Seattle-residing proprietor Shimi Kahn, who asked for help in finding a local spot to visit regularly, has found it. This Saturday, the Middle Eastern food truck will start weekly visits at Hans VW (35th and Graham), a spot recently given up by Marination so they can focus their West Seattle attention on Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor) at Seacrest Pier. You’ll find Falafel Salam there this Saturday and beyond, 11 am-3:30 pm.
When we first reported in November that Westside School (WSB sponsor) is seeking to buy the Hillcrest Presbyterian Church site as its permanent home, Westside leadership promised to schedule a meeting with its prospective new neighbors in Arbor Heights. They now have plans for two. From a flyer that’s just been circulated in AH:
Westside School is planning to move to the Hillcrest Church facility in the Arbor Heights neighborhood, and we would like to share our vision and plans and hear your feedback.
Open House #1: Saturday, March 9th, 10 AM-11 AM, Hillcrest Church, 10404 34th Avenue SW [map]
Open House #2: Tuesday, March 12th, 7 PM-8 PM, Hillcrest Church, 10404 34th Avenue SW
You can see the flyer in its entirety here. Westside is in its third year of leasing the former EC Hughes Elementary campus in Sunrise Heights; Seattle Public Schools has not yet decided how to use that school after Westside vacates. Westside, meantime, has said it plans to renovate the church’s structures rather than demolish them.
(Monday photo by Mark Wangerin, who says the bird is a double-crested cormorant)
Highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC REMINDER: This is day 2 of one lane southbound/two northbound on the Timber Bridge section of Highway 99, south of the West Seattle Bridge, which will be rebuilt over the next year-plus.
SEALTH TOUR: School tour this morning for prospective Chief Sealth International High School families coming from independent schools, 10-11:30 am (2600 SW Thistle)
PATHFINDER MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Pathfinder K-8‘s open house for prospective 6-8 students and their families at 6:00 pm in the library (1912 SW Genesee).
BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS VS. MAIL THEFT: How can you prevent mail theft/fraud – and what do you do if you discover/suspect it? Federal and city law enforcers will be guests at tonight’s monthly meeting of the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network, and you’re invited too: 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).
SEATTLE SYMPHONY, FOR FREE, IN WEST SEATTLE! The orchestra’s series of free community concerts returns to West Seattle tonight, 7:30 pm at the auditorium of Chief Sealth IHS (2600 SW Thistle). No tickets required – just be there! Presented by the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle; details in the calendar listing.
NIGHTLIFE: Live music at Locöl and OutWest; trivia at Feedback; karaoke at Skylark; singer/songwriter night at Shadowland … individual listings for all of the above, on the calendar.
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
Nothing out of the ordinary reported so far this Tuesday. Remember that it’s the second day of the southbound 99 constriction south of the West Seattle Bridge, as the “Timber Bridge” rebuild gets under way – here’s what we found on yesterday’s PM commute. And looking ahead, remember we have two sets of closures this weekend – Delridge/Trenton intersection for repaving (which starts with the closure of a section of Trenton on Thursday), and two closure periods for the Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 between the WS Bridge and Battery Street Tunnel – all day Saturday, then again Sunday morning.
As discussed at the most recent North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting, NDNC plans monthly beautification projects – starting this Saturday, March 2, and continuing every first Saturday of the month. NDNC’s beautification chair Lisa Taylor Whitley hopes you can help:
Our first beautification project will be cleaning the Greg Davis Park area on March 2, 2013 from 10 am to 12 pm. We will meet at the Greg Davis Park on the corner of 26th Ave SW & SW Brandon St (Map It) at the 4 large rocks in the middle of the park. Bags and pickers will be provided. Just show up in comfortable clothes! If there are any questions, comments, or suggestions about future projects you would like to see, please contact Lisa Taylor Whitley at lisataylorwhitley@gmail.com or 206-910-1425.
The day after “Argo” won the Oscar for Best Picture, one of the six “house guests” whose story it tells was in West Seattle, visiting Chief Sealth International High School, at the invitation of teacher Patrice De La Ossa, Ph.D., who shares photos and a report:
“Argo,” anyone? Mark Lijek, one of the real house guests from “Argo,” visited the IB World History Seniors at Chief Sealth International High School today for Q&A after viewing the film last week. Dr. De La Ossa reached out to Mark Lijek, who resides in Washington, and got lucky!
But today, so did her students. Mark met with the seniors and told his personal story, then answered questions from the curious seniors about his ordeal, his continued career in Foreign Services, and how he felt about the film, which just won Best Picture.
Mark Lijek and his wife Cora Amburn-Lijek live in the Skagit County city of Anacortes. Our partners at The Seattle Times told their story last fall, a few weeks after they were flown to the “Argo” premiere in Hollywood. In 1979, when they were embassy employees in Tehran at the time of the hostage crisis, the two were in their mid-20s and had been married four years.
Photos by Nick Adams for WSB
Roxhill Elementary PE teacher Chellie LaFayette and her students are getting national attention for unique teaching/learning techniques, and a round of one-handed basketball today was part of it.
It takes practice, as Adam Mendoza learned:
A recent New York Times story pointed to Roxhill as a school where PE class had integrated other forms of learning – like computers, with an iPad helping demonstrate the throwing technique today:
That’s the view from our 4:15 pm drive on the newly narrowed ‘Timber Bridge’ section of southbound Highway 99 south of the West Seattle Bridge. It became stop-and-go right before the WS Bridge exit and even came to a halt for a moment or two. Past the bridge, the outside lane is the through lane. (added) Right after publishing this, we got a text from Michelle that it’s backed up to Lander. Adding the “live” camera at Lander:
Refresh this page for the newest view – it does not auto-refresh. (You can find that view any time with others on the WSB Traffic page.)
(WSB file photo: Stack of donated car seats from past WS Baby drive)
WestSide Baby isn’t just about diapers – in case you didn’t already know. They provide car seats through partnerships with 80 social-service providers. But right now they have a wait list for convertible and combination-style car seats, according to operations manager Maria Groen – so they are “thrilled that Rico’s Auto Buff approached us to hold a ReRide Car Seat Drive to help us meet this need.” Here’s how it works:
Take your used (or new) car seats to Rico’s Auto Buff during business hours. The goal is to collect 50 reusable car seats for WestSide Baby. Car seats will be collected at Rico’s Autobuff during normal business hours through the end of March and are always accepted at WestSide Baby and their regular drop-off sites.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the number one killer of children 1 to 12 years old in the United States. The best way to protect them in the car is to put them in the right seat, at the right time, and use it the right way.
WestSide Baby collects car seats 6 years and newer for re-use by local children in need. We refurbish used car seats and gratefully accept new car seats too. In 2012, we provided 670 car seats but had more than 400 requests that we could not fill. Any car seats that cannot be passed along to kids for safety reasons will be recycled, and a $5 donation to cover recycling costs is appreciated for car seats over 6 years old.
Rico’s is at 4623 36th SW, just north of SW Alaska, in The Triangle.
Two development notes today:
AND NOW THERE ARE TWO: That 61-year-old duplex at 7018 California SW in south Morgan Junction, across from the row of businesses anchored by Caffe Ladro, will be replaced by a five-unit “rowhouse” of 3-story townhomes. It’s next to 4250 SW Myrtle, where a similar, if not identical, development is on the way (as reported here last July). (added – aerial photo by Long Bach Nguyen showing both sites, the cleared one on Myrtle and the to-be-demolished duplex facing California)
Both are being developed by Renton-based Isola Homes, which also is building a five-unit “rowhouse” in The Junction (mentioned in that same July story). The 7018 California proposal is up for the city’s streamlined Administrative Design Review process, meaning it will be reviewed, but there’s no public meeting planned. From the city website, here’s a scanned version of the design packet submitted last week. County records show this site was sold to the developers less than a month ago for $400,000.
UPDATE ON THE BLAKE: When the owners of the 101-apartment development planned for 5020 California SW, just south of The Junction, announced its new identity as The Blake in December, they said work would begin in January. Since February is almost over with no sign of groundbreaking, we checked in with the company managing the project. They say the permits will be “pulled” this week, so the start is near. The site has had a land-use permit for more than a year but the construction permit is not yet finalized, according to online records.
Good news shared by West Seattle Helpline executive director Tara Luckie:
The West Seattle Helpline just received a $10,000 RealNetworks Foundation grant to go toward helping families facing emergencies in West Seattle with housing and utilities. The RealNetworks Foundation has supported us for several years now. This funding will help many of our neighbors in West Seattle who are facing difficult times.
That’s Tara on the left in the photo, with (center) RealNetworks Foundation Grant Team member Bruce Reisenauer and AmeriCorps VISTA outreach/resources director Jeremy Beliveau. You have options for helping Helpline too – find out how, here.
Today we welcome the “Kingdom of Hamelot” to WSB as one of our newest sponsors. Its creators explain:
Did you know that an entire kingdom is coming to life right here in West Seattle? We’re Connie Watts and Jen Olson, publishers of a new eBook series for kids called the Kingdom of Hamelot, stories based in a mythical, Elizabethan-era kingdom (kind of a mixture of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey). 
The world is rooted in historical facts about the time period and includes tales of magic, intrigue and deception, as well as friendship, acceptance and love. Our eBooks are enhanced, meaning the words on the (digital) page are accompanied by music and narration, challenging vocabulary words, and rich illustrations—and even entertaining supplemental videos.
We have just released Series I: Menagerie of Murder and have four more series planned for this year. Series II: With Mettle and Grit is due out in March. Our eBooks and audiobooks are available on Amazon, iTunes, Audible, and Barnes and Noble.
Connie’s mom, Sharon, is the author of these amazing stories. We are going head-to-head with the big boys of the publishing world by doing all of the planning, production and publicity ourselves, right here on Alki. We are really interested in partnering with local businesses, teachers, and organizations in creative ways. (We are currently offering our Series I eBook to teachers for free.)
Have an idea about partnering or an event? Please let us know! We’ve already held some events in the area and look forward to holding many more. Visit our website at kingdomofhamelot.com or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/KingdomofHamelot. And if you have suggestions, ideas, comments or an unpublished bestseller (we are publishing other eBooks by different authors), please send us e-mail at jen@kingdomofhamelot.com. We’d love to hear from you!
We thank Kingdom of Hamelot for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Dozens of young local musicians are back from a big weekend. Ethan Thomas from West Seattle High School‘s music department reports on achievements by students from 3 local schools:
The West Seattle High School, Chief Sealth International High School, and Denny Middle School Jazz Ensembles traveled together over the weekend to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho. The bands had an opportunity to perform and receive feedback from adjudicators, attend workshops and evening concerts by such internationally acclaimed musicians as Maceo Parker, Jeff Hamilton, Regina Carter, Take 6 and the Lionel Hampton Big Band. Three students from our group (Annabel Foucault from WSHS on bass, Cameron Nakatani from CSIHS and Ben Orlin from Denny IMS on trumpet) received honorable mention recognition for their performance. All three groups (WSHS under the direction of Ethan Thomas; CSIHS and Denny under the direction of Marcus Pimpleton) performed very well.
Congratulations to all!
| 10 COMMENTS