2 dog followups: Pit-bull shooting aftermath; lost Akita
We have been checking in periodically with Seattle Animal Shelter director Don Jordan to find out what was going to happen to the dog that survived the police shooting in Westwood on February 26, and to the owner of that dog and another that was killed after attacking a man and his Chihuahua. In early March, Jordan told us the owner faced more than $1,000 in fines from citations. Today, he says his investigator is almost done writing up a report recommending that the owner face a criminal charge, “negligent control of an animal.” As for the surviving dog, it’s still in Animal Shelter custody, and its future depends on what happens with the criminal-charge recommendation. If a charge is filed, the dog will remain with the shelter TFN as evidence. If the prosecutor decides not to charge the owner, Jordan says, the dog would likely be returned to the man, because there was no prior history of violations involving this dog (though the owner did have a history of violations with other dogs). We’ll keep checking to see what happens. Meantime, an update on this elusive dog:
That’s Kit the Akita, who’s been in the Lost/Found section of our Pets page for almost three weeks now, with a particularly heartwrenching story: He got away just a week after starting a new life following rescue from an abusive situation. He’s apparently been spotted around Westwood but is hard to catch, according to Lynn, who e-mailed with this update:
There was another attempt to catch Kit April 3rd by a woman who lives in the area … I hope many people are watching out for this boy and trying to catch him. He has been seen crossing busy roads and is very vulnerable out there, if he is still alive at this point. I spoke with the woman who lost him the other day and she has tried very hard to catch him and is very, very sad. Animal Control tried live trapping, but apparently didn’t have a tranquilizer gun; it looks likely they could have got him that way since they were near him for quite some time, according to what I was told.
As the Pets page post says, call (206) 518-1611 if you find or see this dog – not the number on his old tags, which were from the previous owner and hadn’t yet been changed..
Update on ActivSpace fire cause: Incense
First: Jerry from JetCityOrange, who (as mentioned in the original report) works in the building, has now uploaded some video. Now, the cause: Helen Fitzpatrick from the Seattle Fire Department says some incense was left too close to papers, which caught on fire. The reported “explosion” was actually a can of shaving cream exploding, according to SFD, which also says nobody was hurt; no other units were affected; damage estimate, $25,000.
Denny-Sealth updates: Landmark nominations; dot votes; meetings
Thanks to Westwood Neighborhood Council president Steve Fischer for sending word that as part of the process in the Denny Middle School rebuild/Chief Sealth High School renovations shared-campus project, Seattle Public Schools has submitted landmark nominations for Denny and Sealth. (This is a required part of the process because of the buildings’ age; before significant work, or teardown in the case of DMS, occurs, the city must determine whether they merit landmark designation.) The Landmarks Preservation Board will have a public hearing on both nominations during its meeting at 3:30 pm next Wednesday (40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown; other West Seattle items are on the agenda including approval of the Hiawatha Playfield project and Fauntleroy Church window work, since both involve landmarks). Also, there’s word of a SPS-sponsored public meeting April 22 at CSHS cafeteria, 6:30 pm, to review the “environmental checklist” for the Denny/Sealth project. Meantime, we were at Sealth today and noticed easels are up in the commons, with “dot voting” going on to prioritize 30 possible projects that could be funded with the money the school is slated to get beyond safety-related renovations. Last update — As we first reported a week ago, the legal challenge to the Denny/Sealth project is proceeding, though SPS confirms it has filed to have the complaint dismissed, because it “believes that the case is without merit.”
Quick West Seattle notes from land-use land
The new Land Use Information Bulletin from the city (published twice weekly; you can sign up in the right sidebar here to get it by e-mail) has several projects of West Seattle interest this time. We wanted to call attention here to three of them: First, in Admiral, the official notice of the Southwest Design Review Board meeting in two weeks for 2743 California SW (we told you about it a week ago when it turned up on the city website). Second, in Gatewood, looks like a plan is in the works for the building just west of Seattle International Church, 7148 44th SW, which was used as a school when Gatewood Baptist Church owned it (and was offered for sale separate from the church in fall 2006); here’s the city project page, which says the use is changing to “artist studios.” Third, after two “early design guidance” SWDRB meetings, the official land-use application is in for Spring Hill, BlueStar‘s proposed six-story mixed-use building at 5020 California (most recent WSB coverage here).
West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day signups begin!
As of this morning, through Friday, April 25, registration is open and the first signups already have rolled in for the 4th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, which is happening 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 10. (Backstory: WSCGSD is a creation of the late great community-connection organization Megawatt; its leadership hoped its signature events would go on, and allowed WSCGSD to be taken over by WSB, while Gathering of Neighbors will now be presented by DNDA.) If you haven’t participated before, as a sale-holder or shoppers, just to be clear: This is NOT one big day in one location — this is one day set aside for people to have sales all over West Seattle – as many as people sign up to have – in the past few years, there’ve been more than 100! – all promoted with a map and citywide advertising. For the first time, you can register online — go to the official West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day website at westseattlegaragesale.com to do that, or to get a downloadable registration form you can print out and mail in, or to see the list of locations where you will be able to pick up a registration form starting later today (just in time for the West Seattle Art Walk tonight – some of our form-distribution locations are Art Walk participants). And even if you’re not going to have a sale as part of WSCGSD on May 10, please set aside some time to shop till you drop – as happens every year, we will have maps available online and at several in-person locations starting a few days ahead of time; we’re also promoting/advertising the event to areas outside West Seattle so shoppers will flock this way. One more new feature this year: Contests – including “best sign” and “most unusual sale item.” Questions? E-mail garagesale@westseattleblog.com – and keep checking westseattlegaragesale.com for updates.
Reader report: Crash chaos @ 40th and Andover
That’s just one of a slew of photos JF sent us from a chaotic multiple-vehicle crash scene by his house at 40th and Andover (map) on Tuesday afternoon. He says it’s a spot where they’ve been trying to get city help for “traffic calming” to slow drivers down:
Read on for JF’s account of what happened, and more of his photos:Read More
1st day in the office for Southwest Precinct Capt. Joe Kessler
This afternoon we got the chance to spend a few minutes talking with the new leader of West Seattle’s police force (they handle South Park too), Southwest Precinct Capt. Joe Kessler. This was his first official day in the office at the precinct (which is just east of Home Depot). He says he’s thrilled to be working in West Seattle because of strong community involvement — and he considers community participation in info-sharing here at WSB to be part of that. When it was clear some of the department’s top leaders would be moving around this year (we first reported the moves in late February), Capt. Kessler says the Southwest Precinct was his top choice. He says he’s worked before with many people who are based at the SWP, so they’ve already got a good working relationship to start with. As he gets settled in, we’ll be talking with him more about his plans for leading the team that’s working — with your help — to keep West Seattle safe. (Capt. Kessler’s predecessor in the SWP’s top role, Capt. Mike Fann, is now running the Traffic Unit.)
Fighting colon cancer? Invitation from a West Seattle survivor
West Seattle mom of three Anita Mitchell is not just fighting colon cancer, she’s fighting to help other people who are battling it. And that’s why she took time to talk with WSB about how she’s doing and about a celebrity-led event in Seattle this Saturday that’s a must-attend for not just patients, but also their family and friends — an event that wouldn’t be happening if she hadn’t pushed for it:Read More
West Seattle Chamber of Commerce awards: 2 honored
That’s Tom Smith of Tom’s Automotive, honored at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s annual Awards Breakfast attended by 105 people at Salty’s on Alki this morning as “Business of the Year” — as he mentions in our video, in business 37 years! (Thanks to WSB readers for contributing nominations!) Also honored this morning, Warren Lawless with the Community Service Award; he has been a businessman and community leader in West Seattle for more than 65 years. The awards were presented by deputy mayor Tim Ceis; among those in attendance were other political leaders including West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, and countless West Seattle business/community leaders. ADDED 11:52 AM: Here’s a short clip from Warren Lawless’s acceptance speech. He had many great quips drawing audience laughter, but this brief quote seemed to get to the heart of what he was honored for:
Admiral Safeway site: What do YOU want to see there?
That’s a new store that Safeway is building in Los Gatos, California, close in size to its current store in West Seattle’s Admiral District. Could a similar plan — underground parking, outdoor patio — be appropriate for the Admiral project that Safeway’s about to launch? It was one of many suggestions given to five Safeway reps who were on hand last night at the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s monthly meeting. They had no presentation of their own to make — stating simply and quickly that they don’t even have a design outline for the site yet, and just wanted to hear thoughts from those at the meeting — and, from you:Read More
Fight against youth drinking still needs more fighters
On the 14th anniversary of the day when millions were shaken to learn Seattle grunge-rock megastar Kurt Cobain had ended years of substance abuse by committing suicide, an earnest group gathered tonight at South Seattle Community College in hopes of strategizing how to save today’s young people from getting anywhere near that kind of lethal low point. You probably heard about the anti-underage-drinking town-hall meeting ahead of time; organizer Renae Gaines from Madison Middle School worked hard to get the word out.Read More
Reader report: Supermarket employees’ unusual task
That photo is courtesy Bill Schrier, who witnessed a startling sight in Metropolitan Market tonight – he describes it as a man yelling and throwing merchandise – Bill says what you see in his photo are store employees who managed to get the man under control till help arrived. No more details at this point about what happened or whether everyone is OK; we will check with police tomorrow.
New coffee shop coming to West Seattle
That’s David Robertson and Paul Binder of PB&J Textiles in front of their old location at 7349 35th SW (map; next door to Olympic Heights Laundry, which they operate) – the space where they have just announced they will open Coffee at the Heights, target date mid-June. They have been working on it for a while but kept it under wraps until they were close to the final stage of the permit process for converting the space. Once Coffee at the Heights is up and running, they plan to be open 5:30 am till 8 pm, maybe later; they will serve coffee, pastry, desserts, and sandwiches (the sandwich operation might not be up when they first open, depending on how the Health Department approval process goes). Meanwhile, their current retail/production location for PB&J Textiles is offering something timely:
That’s the display in the south windows of PB&J at 5962 Fauntleroy (map) – reusable bags, just in time for the proposed city tax on non-reusable shopping bags. (As the display notes, $4 will get you one of their bags or potentially 20 non-reusable bags, your choice!) You can buy them right there at the shop.
Update: Pedestrian hit at 35th/Thistle
Just back from the scene (map). Victim is actually a 60-year-old woman, according to police, who also told WSB she was crossing against the light. Neighbors and officers were also helping the woman who hit her, who was sitting on the corner, sobbing inconsolably. Police say the woman who was hit should be OK – she was described as “stable” just as Medic 32 was about to pull away to take her to Harborview Medical Center to be checked out. The southbound lane was closed for a while but should be open again now as the scene clears. 11:59 AM ADDITION: We are choosing not to use the video we have that shows the driver, as police indicate it was not her fault. In this clip, as medics lift the victim onto a gurney to get her to M-32, you can somewhat hear the driver in the background (though we were standing as respectfully far away as we could) along with the voices of police/firefighters trying to comfort her. We think that’s an important part of the story; it was heartbreaking to hear. We are certainly going to think twice about jaywalking, even when it seems safe.
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