West Seattle, Washington
08 Friday
8:01 PM: There’s a major “heavy rescue” response on the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct right now around 4th Avenue South. A texter tells us a car is on or into the divider, so it might be affecting westbound traffic too. More as we get it.
8:15 PM: From SFD via Twitter:
Heavy rescue EB West Seattle Freeway at the gore point. Car on 2 wheels. Firefighters extricated patient in critical condition
— Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) March 19, 2014
We’re at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting right now – look for the wrapup later. Two things to report right now:
WONDERED WHAT WAS UP AT 16TH/HOLDEN TONIGHT? Big police response there around 6 pm – couldn’t find out anything at the time, but we asked Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith here at the WSCPC meeting. He says it was an operation involving Bellevue Police and a suspect who lives in West Seattle – and when they made a request for assistance from SPD, it was misinterpreted as a “help the officer” call, which means “everybody rush there, an officer’s in trouble.” So there was a big but not-needed response for a bit. We’ll be checking with Bellevue PD tomorrow to see if they can tell us more about what they’re doing over here – we do recall a case or two in the past.
(added, 10:56 pm) BELLEVUE POLICE IN HIGHLAND PARK AGAIN: We won’t be able to find out until tomorrow if this was related, but not far from 16th/Holden, the Bellevue SWAT team served a warrant tonight:
One of the people who tipped us e-mailed about seeing that van go by around 9:30: “They stopped between the 7200/7400 block of 16th Ave SW (west side) … lights on … SWAT team in motion. We heard, “police search warrant, open up” (several times). 10 minutes later we still heard those same police requests (have to assume backup was also on the west side of this house).” Might just be a coincidence, but this is the same general vicinity where Bellevue Police made an ID-theft bust last year.
(back to original report) STOLEN CAR: Ashley reports, “My car was stolen from my driveway last night between midnight and 6 am. 6300 block of 42nd Ave SW. It is a white Hyundai Tucson. Michigan plates. 1FRN69. I already reported it to police, but I thought other people might be able to help as well.” Call 911 if you see it.
Don’t just sit there – ‘get civic’! That’s the message we were asked to share with you by Mat McBride, chair of the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council, in advance of its monthly meeting tomorrow night:
After reading multiple comments about civics education (and lack thereof) for both kids and adults on WSB, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council decided to engage. It’s not uncommon for City Councilmembers to attend our meetings, but usually it’s to announce a particular initiative. As our political climate is changing we feel that inviting all of our councilmembers to attend is important for two reasons: for them to get to know (better) the eastern half of our beautiful peninsula, and to get to know You (the people they work for). Our first representative in this series is Sally Clark, whose bio and committee info can be found here.
District Council meetings are always open to the public. But I want to specifically encourage you to take this opportunity to lean in. Having a personal, intimate conversation with your elected, policy-making representative is both powerful and empowering. All ages are welcome (one of my fondest memories is of a young man – working on a civics merit badge – who came to a DNDC meeting and had a great dialogue, with again, Sally Clark). So bring your questions, bring your ideas, and get engaged. Get civic.
Here are five more reasons to do that: The newest applications for the Parks and Neighborhood Streets Fund, which DNDC will review tomorrow night before making recommendations to the city on which to prioritize for potential funding. These are community-member-proposed projects and they’re not big enough to trigger further levels of meetings/feedback so this is when to take a look. The application docs are linked below:
*Rapid flashing beacons for 11th/Holden
*26th Avenue SW Greenway crosswalks
*5950 Delridge Way crossing
*Planning/design study for Puget Boulevard Trail
*Roxhill Park improvements
*SW Juneau staircase improvements
Check out the council at 7 pm Wednesday (March 19th), Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
Though the Morgan Junction murder trial was called off for the day, we stayed at the courthouse for a plea hearing in another West Seattle case. Indeed, the three men charged in the Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy street robberies last August 21st have just appeared before King County Superior Court Judge Carol Schapira to plead guilty as charged: 
22-year-old Hassan I. Abdirizak, 19-year-old Abdulkamir A. Ahmed, and 22-year-old Najib A. Aden. Each was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of attempted first-degree robbery – for a Beacon Hill incident the same night as well as the two in West Seattle.
None are West Seattle residents. Aden has been out of jail since November, while Abdirizak and Ahmed have remained in custody. Months ago, there was talk they might face charges in robberies elsewhere in the city, but as part of the plea bargain, no additional charges were or will be filed, and each pleaded guilty to the three original charges. Prosecutors will recommend what equals a 68-month (just over five and a half years) sentence – the top end of the “standard” range for 1st-degree robbery – for each one when they are sentenced, followed by 18 months’ community custody (probation). The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 pm April 18th.
Two community meetings tonight that we want to mention before it’s too late:
FAUNTLEROY ‘FOOD FEST’: Bites from local eateries are an incentive offered by the Fauntleroy Community Association to get nearby residents to its annual membership meeting, part information fair, part mingling opportunity, part election, as previewed here, all starting at 6 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy. (9131 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: WSCPC is scheduled to hear about crime trends from new precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske, and you’re invited to ask about neighborhood concerns. Also, special guests from SPD will talk about recruitment and background checks, as previewed here. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct. (Delridge/Webster)
Two traffic updates, both about Highway 99 closures: First, WSDOT‘s Kris Olsen tells WSB there will be NO 99 closure tonight – the next one is tentatively scheduled for 9 pm Wednesday night-5 am Thursday, East Marginal to Atlantic for Spokane St. Overcrossing re-striping/realignment. Also, WSDOT’s Laura Newborn confirms that the time frame for Saturday’s Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection-followup closure is 4:30 am-7 pm.
11:56 AM: WSDOT assistant secretary David Moseley, who runs Washington State Ferries, has just announced he is leaving after six years. The announcement is in an early edition of his e-mail newsletter, which usually arrives on Fridays. No word yet on a successor.
12:32 PM: Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson promises a “national search” for the next WSF boss.
Monday, the judge was out sick; today, a prosecutor is – so, no court again today in the Morgan Junction murder trial. Whenever it resumes, the prosecution’s final expected witness, Seattle Police Homicide Unit Detective Tim DeVore, will be back on the stand. 69-year-old Lovett “Cid” Chambers is on trial in the January 2012 shooting death of 35-year-old Travis Hood. If you’re catching up on our coverage, our report on Thursday’s proceedings (the most recent day of testimony) includes links to all previous stories.
(LATEST: KOMO helicopter crash victims identified; federal investigators on scene)
(Photo courtesy Jennifer, taken from crane in the area)
7:51 AM: If you are headed downtown, stay far away from the Seattle Center area – a helicopter is reported to have crashed, and there are fires on the ground, including at least two cars. KING and KOMO TV report it is a helicopter they use in a partnership – both of them are located in the area, KOMO right across the street from Seattle Center. Scanner indicates at least one person injured on the ground.
7:59 AM: Video uploaded by Alex McBurney shows the fire likely moments after it happened. Firefighters at the scene are working on extinguishing the fire as well as getting to any patients. Scanner also indicates authorities are now notifying aviation authorities – NTSB, FAA. We have heard discussion of one person hurt but have not heard other news of casualties. All regional news sources are of course covering this – we just want to reiterate, stay away from that area. We haven’t heard yet the full parameters of what’s blocked off, but Broad Street, 4th and 5th in that area for sure. For context, see the photo in this tweet by Seattle Times (WSB partner) reporter Brian Rosenthal – note the 5th/Broad McDonald’s in the background:
A helicopter appears to have crashed into two cars just outside the Space Needle. Massive police and fire response. pic.twitter.com/PPm8WfAVFF
— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) March 18, 2014
Street closures will continue for hours, if not – as one TV anchor just suggested – days. The helicopter is widely reported to belong to KOMO, which is right across Broad St. from the south side of the Needle.
8:16 AM: Seattle Fire has just tweeted that two people are confirmed dead at the scene. You can follow SFD’s Twitter stream here; SPD’s Twitter stream here. (You don’t need to be a Twitter user to see tweets via the web.)
9:33 AM: During a news conference just before 9 am, SFD confirmed that the people who died were both on the helicopter. One person hit on the ground is in the hospital. And they are still looking for someone who got out of their pickup truck and left the scene, just wanting to make sure s/he is OK. Your editor here worked at KOMO 1991-1999 and like everyone else sends thoughts and prayers to the families, friends, and co-workers of the victims, who have not yet been publicly identified. We’re moving on with today’s West Seattle news – the regional news outlets are all over this; just again keep in mind that the area will be closed to traffic, likely into tomorrow, so if you have to go anywhere near Seattle Center/Space Needle, expect detours. We will update our daily traffic watch if there are any official overviews on those.
10:18 AM: Mayor Murray will have a news conference at 10:30 – you should be able to see it live at seattlechannel.org. Meantime, apologies if you have had trouble getting into our site – interest in this story brought in a traffic crush; our server managers have opened a few more floodgates so it should be more accessible.
10:57 AM: The Times quotes KOMO as identifying one of the victims as longtime photojournalist Bill Strothman. Longtime KOMO anchor/reporter Connie Thompson (a West Seattleite) remembers him in a tweet:
So many fond memories Bill Strothman. So many adventures. Our hearts break more than words can express. pic.twitter.com/0JJLEnCGXU
— Connie Thompson (@ConnieKOMO) March 18, 2014
The pilot has been identified (update) as Gary Pfitzner. Here is a KOMO story about them.
LATE-NIGHT NOTE: All the roads in the area reopened by 7 pm, less than 12 hours after the crash, according to SDOT.
(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Two advisories to start the morning:
OLSON PLACE PAVEMENT REPAIR: Today’s the day SDOT plans to start three days of work fixing the pavement in the Olson/2nd vicinity, around the east end of SW Roxbury. Here’s the original announcement.
ANOTHER HIGHWAY 99 CLOSURE: WSDOT also has another announced closure of Highway 99 between East Marginal and Atlantic for the Spokane St. Overcrossing project’s finishing touches just south of the West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm tonight-5 am Wednesday. (We’ll be verifying this with WSDOT before day’s end, as they have noted it’s weather-dependent and also that there’s a chance the work could be done sooner than expected. We’re also checking with WSDOT today to verify details of the announced closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct for a followup inspection this coming Saturday, March 22nd.)
7:47 AM – DOWNTOWN EMERGENCY: A helicopter is reported to have crashed near the Space Needle/Seattle Center and that’s what the black smoke is downtown. We’re going to break this out separately. Avoid that area.
8:21 AM: Here’s our separate story – all regional news outlets are covering this too; it is reported to have been the KOMO TV helicopter – Channel 4 is right across Broad Street from the crash scene. KIRO and KING also have their headquarters a couple blocks away.
12:59 PM – HIGHWAY 99 UPDATES: *No* closure tonight, WSDOT now says. Tentatively scheduled for tomorrow night. Meantime, the time frame of Saturday’s Alaskan Way Viaduct closure is confirmed for 4:30 am-7 pm.
3:02 PM – SEATTLE CENTER UPDATES: 5th Avenue has reopened. Part of Broad, including the crash scene, has not. This SDOT tweet has the latest.
(Garfield pitcher Owen Vickrey, WSLL alum)
The visiting team was almost a second home team when the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks opened its baseball season at Roxhill on Monday afternoon. Four of the visiting Garfield High School Bulldogs, as noted in this Garfield-penned online wrapup, are West Seattle Little League alums – winning pitcher Owen Vickrey, catcher Alex Chase, rightfielder Justin Arkills-McLain, and centerfielder Derek Billey. Derek’s father, Garfield assistant varsity coach Dan Billey, alerted us to the this, meaning much familiarity on the field not only during this game, but also when Garfield goes on to play West Seattle HS on Tuesday, since the two on-peninsula teams have former WSLL teammates too. But back to Monday’s game; final score was Garfield 11, Sealth 6.
(Sealth 3rd base, Merle Rowan-Kennedy, WSLL alum)
Chase led Garfield with 5 RBIs:
(Garfield catcher Alex Chase, WSLL alum)
Today’s WSHS-Garfield game is at 4 pm, and Coach Billey notes that too will feature former WSLL teammates turned friendly rivals. He coached many of them along the way starting when they were about 6 and moving on up through state Little League All-Star tournaments in their 9-10, 10-11, and 11-12 days. So head on over to Hiawatha for today’s 3:30 pm game and cheer for everybody.
P.S. Speaking of WSLL, its pre-season jamboree is this Saturday at Bar-S Fields on Alki Point.
Two updates on the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s upcoming Westside Awards breakfast (7:30 am April 3rd at Salty’s [WSB sponsor], tickets available now).
First, the keynote speaker has just been announced by Chamber CEO Lynn Dennis.
It’s Mayor Ed Murray, shown in a WSB photo from his Hiawatha appearance last week announcing the parks-funding proposal; he will be back on this side of the bay for the occasion.
Second, the nomination deadline has been extended through tomorrow, and Dennis says it’s important that you know EVERYONE is welcome to send in a nomination, Chamber member or not – “So often we do not get the chance to tell people how much we appreciate them and their involvement in the community,” she points out. “This is the opportunity to do just that.” Here again are the categories:
Westside Business of the Year – This nominee has been in business at least 3 years and demonstrated business excellence and success.
Westside Emerging Business – This nominee business has been in operations for less than 3 years but is meeting the challenges of a growing business through leadership.
Westside Not-For-Profit of the Year – This nominee non-profit is making our community a better place to live while contributing to community benefit through their mission.
Westsider of the Year – This nominee is making a lasting impact on our community and the lives of others or is an up-coming community role model.
West Seattle Chamber membership is NOT required for either nominators or nominees. Just go here to nominate a business or person tonight or tomorrow.
He’s now registered with an address on Queen Anne, but just in case he turns up in West Seattle again, here’s the newest photo of Michael S. Stanley. He’s the registered sex offender/convicted rapist who got out of jail one week ago after serving time for harassment related to an incident in Admiral, not long after he caused an international stir by returning to the U.S. after removing a monitoring device in Canada.
Of course, he’s far from the only registered sex offender out there. If you want to check to see who’s registered as living near you, here’s the website to use. (If you ever need to find it again, note that it’s on the resource list at the very bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page, too.)
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
New details today from West Seattle Nursery, which announced via Facebook last week that it’s giving away the house next door (top photo) – owner Mark Smith‘s house – to make room for expansion.
First, the expansion: WS Nursery says: “We are planning to build a retail greenhouse, beverage stand and gift shop on the lot next door to the existing nursery space. … The greenhouse plans include a two story multi-function building that will house a classroom space for gardening classes, large storage area for back stock merchandise and spacious customer bathrooms on the first floor. The second floor will have a business operations office facing California Avenue SW and an efficient but roomy new apartment to serve as Mr. Smith’s new residence.”
They’re hoping construction will start in July, but first, the 92-year-old house (5269 California SW) has to go, and it’s yours for the hauling:
This spacious, well-lit and comfortable house has very sturdy 1920’s era construction with original molding, windows and doors. Mr. Smith is only the 2nd owner in the house’s history. West Seattle Nursery wishes to offer the entire house up free of charge to anyone who can haul it away in its entirety. The house is available for haul-away June 1, 2014.
WSN has posted more photos on CL.
Thanks to WSB Forums member Wakeflood for opening a discussion about this – the city is asking for your feedback right now about Comcast‘s franchise, before deciding on a potential 10-year-renewal. As Wakeflood points out, you can just answer a few quick questions here – or follow the link on that page to a full-fledged more-detailed survey (here).
Thanks to Jonathan French for the tip: Online city records say the site of Alki Auto Repair (2504 Alki SW) is proposed for 
conversion to a restaurant. The site is already next to two – Christo’s and Duke’s. What restaurant is on the way, you ask? The DPD docs offer only one big hint: The “financially responsible party” is listed as Charlie Olson, owner of Blue Moon Burgers, and the address listed on the application, 920 Republican, checks to Blue Moon’s South Lake Union business-district location.
The Blue Moon name is NOT on the publicly viewable city documents, though; they list another company with which he is affiliated, Olson’s Baking Company. (No restaurants in that company, though, so far as we can tell.) Olson declined comment. Blue Moon has three locations – besides SLU, Capitol Hill and Fremont; back in 2007, we mentioned it here on WSB because of a story elsewhere mentioning it was eyeing WS. If the new restaurant does turn out to be a BMB, it would join Fatburger, which opened its first Seattle location on Alki last October, and longtime burgers-and-more Pepperdock. Updates as we get them (including anything we learn about Alki Auto’s future).
ADDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Dane at Alki Auto confirms what was mentioned in comments:
We the staff at Alki Auto Repair are pleased to inform you that we will be moving to Avalon way and the site of the british auto center as of April 1. We will continue to operate at the 2504 Address until the end of the month. Our future is bright in the auto repair business and we will continue to strive in helping our customers with quality auto repair.
Dane W. Hurn
Service manager
Alki Auto Repair
No court today in what we’ve been calling the Morgan Junction murder trial – we arrived downtown only to learn that King County Superior Court Judge Theresa B. Doyle is out sick today, so that postpones the resumption of the trial until 9 am tomorrow (Tuesday). This is the fourth week that jurors have been hearing the case of Lovett “Cid” Chambers, charged with second-degree murder in the January 2012 shooting death of Travis Hood alongside Morgan Junction Park. WSB is the only news organization in court covering the trial start to finish; if you’re interested in catching up on our coverage, our report on Thursday’s proceedings (the trial is in recess on Fridays) includes links to all the previous installments.
This morning the decision is in from the city Department of Planning and Development – land-use approval for the 30-apartments, no-parking-spaces project at 6917 California SW (map), with DPD determining its “environmentally non-significance,” meaning the city will NOT require a full environmental-impact report. Read the decision here.
After we broke the news of the plan here last October, it drew citywide attention as another flashpoint of concern over increasing density adjacent to single-family neighborhoods – including commentary on its official sign:
Though the project was not planned for Design Review, three meetings were held in December – one with contextual information about the land-use process, one with developer Mark Knoll, a third with city planners, organized after they gathered enough signatures to ask DPD to call the meeting for comments. The decision document includes the results of planners’ review, including these paragraphs about the parking concern:
The proposed 30-unit apartment building proposes zero on-site vehicular parking spaces, and eight bicycle spaces in the basement of the structure. The subject site is within a multi-family zone, the Morgan Junction Residential Urban Village, and is within 1,320-feet of a street with “frequent transit service” (SMC 23.84A.038 “T”); therefore, there is no minimum requirement for on-site parking (SMC 23.54.015).
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Parking Manual indicates that the residential use could generate peak demand for approximately 41 vehicle parking spaces (1.37 spaces per residential unit peak demand). However, these estimates are generated based on data collected from suburban sites, with typical market-sized residential units. The proposed development consists entirely of studio sized residential units that are approximately 220 square feet in size, located in a dense neighborhood with frequent transit and opportunity for walking and biking to nearby services. It is reasonable to expect that the actual peak parking demand from this project would be less than 41 spaces. As is typical with residential projects, the peak parking demand is expected to occur during late evening and overnight hours.
To better understand the impacts of this development, the applicant submitted a Parking Demand and Parking Utilization Study (William Popp Associates, January 22, 2014). This study estimates the parking demand for this use, and evaluates the existing availability of on-street parking in the area. What the study finds is that this apartment building will likely generate a parking demand of approximately 15 vehicles (0.5 per unit), and that these vehicles can be accommodated on the street as the study area has a late evening parking utilization rate of 55% (282 legal on-street spaces with 156 vehicles parked). The expected 15 project-related vehicles would increase the on-street utilization rate to 61%.
The decision can be appealed to the city Hearing Examiner; deadline is two weeks from today, March 31st. Meantime, demolition and construction permits are pending.
(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! No major problems so far. But if you’re using the Spokane Street Viaduct eastbound between 1st and 4th Avenues, take note of a big pothole reported Sunday morning – we’re hopeful it did get fixed, but can’t confirm that until later.
Also of note: WSDOT is not done with the Spokane St. Overcrossing bridge restriping just south of the West Seattle Bridge, so it’s expecting to close 99 between East Marginal and Atlantic again for up to 3 more nights, starting tonight, 9 pm-5 am. We’re told that the closures are weather-dependent – so they’re not a sure thing if it’s rainy.
8:02 AM: 911 log shows a crash at 40th/Hanford.
Four reader reports – two burglaries and two car prowls – in our weekend West Seattle Crime Watch report. Details ahead:
If you’re a 1974 graduate of West Seattle High School, you have two more weeks to buy discounted advance tickets to your 40th class reunion this summer. The official announcement:
The West Seattle High School Class of 1974 40th Class Reunion is scheduled for Saturday, July 19, 2014 from 6:30 to 11:30 PM at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Avenue SW. Tickets are $75 per person if paid by April 1, 2014 and $85 after.
Additional information and payment information is available on the website: www.wshs1974.com. You can also “like” the “West Seattle High School – Class of 1974” page on Facebook for updates. Or you can e-mail Heidi Blaustein Newman at heidin129@aol.com. See you in July!
(Southwestern side of Roxhill Bog, photographed today by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Just a short distance past the playground and skatespot in Roxhill Park is Roxhill Bog – historically, where Longfellow Creek begins.
It’s undergone some restoration work in the past, but needs a lot more, and the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council has been working to put together a plan/request for Seattle Parks and Seattle Public Utilities. The bog’s past may be a key to our area’s future – and the proper restoration could help reduce flood problems along the Longfellow Creek corridor, as well as reducing the area where trouble sometimes lurks.
They’ve gathered a fair amount of information already, but, as WWRHAH secretary Joe Szilagyi explains, “At this point we’re just trying to fill in the last gaps of knowledge and information over a very, very long period of time before we can finalize our planning and bring this to SPU and Parks.” So if you have had any historical knowledge of/information about Roxhill Bog, they’ve set up a special e-mail address and invite you to get in touch: bog@wwrhah.org.
P.S. The area’s wetlands have had rough treatment in the past – while doing some added research, we found in the Seattle Municipal Archives this city photo dated exactly 53 years ago today (March 16, 1961), labeled “W. Roxbury paving, peat bog/26th and Barton,” though we can’t tell exactly where it is in relation to the current park site:
Meantime, if you are interested in more background on the current challenges and potential benefits of tackling them, read on for the text of the letter Szilagyi has sent to city and county leaders on WWRHAH’s behalf:
Heard about St. Baldrick’s?
Organizer Emily Austin is asking West Seattleites to agree to go bald on March 29th to help kids with cancer. She and Shanti Salon are organizing the fundraising event at Mind Unwind (2206 California SW) in The Admiral District, just a few blocks from the salon.
The act of giving up your head hair, says Emily, is “a gesture of solidarity for children who lose their hair in treatment, or anyone else who has gone through the hair loss trauma while undergoing treatment.”
Cheering on the shavees – who will have gathered sponsor pledges ahead of time – is just part of the event, so you’re invited even if you’re planning on keeping your hair. Says Emily, “There will also be silent auction items, raffle items and other ways to donate. We are still in need of a few donations of goods, services, gift cards, or table ready baskets to auction off.” But most importantly:
We’re actively searching for a few more folks who would consider shaving their heads and in particular, those willing to collect donations in advance. Our event link makes it quite easy to sign up, and sometimes, people or businesses will even form a team to make things more interesting. Anyone can get involved, from getting shaved, shaving heads, sweeping hair, helping collect donations for the raffle tickets that evening, to just coming by the event and lending support.
Emily hopes to build the event in the years ahead to where 100 people will get their heads shaved in a single evening. If you’re willing to help her head in that direction – sign up here. And join her at Mind Unwind on Saturday, March 29th, 6-8 pm.
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