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Arbor Heights fire aftermath: Some hydrants to be upgraded

Another followup today on the water-pressure/access problems that hampered firefighters in the early going on August 27th, when flames gutted an Arbor Heights home, sending black smoke so high into the sky that it could be seen for miles around. We have reported that Seattle Public Utilities, which is accountable for hydrants and water service, plans an “after-action review” with the Seattle Fire Department. And today, we just got word that SPU plans to take two steps for starters:

First, SPU spokesperson Susan Stoltzfus tells WSB, eleven hydrants in the area will be replaced with larger hydrants – she says those hydrants are attached to some of the area’s larger water mains, and could be upgraded to provide better water pressure. (Those 11 do not include the two hydrants that firefighters first tried to use on August 27, she says, because they are connected to smaller mains and just enlarging the hydrants wouldn’t do any good.) Second, she says SPU and SFD will decide on a way to make it obvious to firefighters which are the lower-pressure hydrants and which are the higher-pressure hydrants. These are not the only steps they’re going to take – that review is still ahead – but she says this is something they can do relatively quickly (within three months) to help.

(The family who rented the home, you may recall, was out of town when the fire happened; as we reported last week, they are continuing to get back on their feet.)

West Seattle schools: National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist @ Chief Sealth

Congratulations to Chief Sealth International High School student Brian Griffith – he is one of just 32 students in Seattle Public Schools who have made it into the semifinals for this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. Nationwide, 16,000 students are in the running, with high scores on last year’s Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. He’s the only one this year from schools in our area. Next spring, more than half of them will get scholarships with a total value of about $34 million.

Still getting phone books? New ‘opt-out’ deadline looms

If you missed the last deadline to get in on the city’s new “opt-out” program for stopping phone-book deliveries, Seattle Public Utilities reminds you today that another deadline looms – September 23rd is the last day to “opt-out” before the next major round of deliveries. SPU’s “At Your Service” site explains how you can do that, online or by phone.

Update: Westwood apartment fire blamed on electrical short

1:16 PM: Seattle Fire has sent a “full response” – multiple engines and trucks, medic unit, etc. – to a fire reported in the 8600 block of 25th SW (map). The first crews to arrive saw smoke. We have a crew on the way.

1:21 PM: Via scanner, we’re hearing crews report they’re putting water on this fire through a hole they cut in the roof. The fire is just about two blocks south of the Chief Sealth International High School/Denny International Middle School campus. It doesn’t sound like a major fire, though – they’re canceling some of the units.

1:34 PM: Just talked with the incident commander on scene. This was a second-floor apartment, nobody home, no injuries. They’re still checking the extent of damage, and investigating the cause. (added) The fire was between the rafters and the roof, and SFD says the unit itself was the only one involved, and was not heavily damaged.

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: We checked back with SFD re: the cause and damage, and spokesperson Kyle Moore provided this info: “A Seattle Fire Investigator determined the cause of the fire as an electrical short in the attic. The damage estimate is $14,000 to the structure and $1,000 to the contents.”

Update: SWAT standoff over in Highland Park, 1 in custody

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
12:32 PM: Thanks to multiple tipsters who say the SWAT team’s in the 7900 block of 18th SW and the road’s blocked off. We’re on the way. It started as a domestic dispute, according to SPD’s Officer Renee Witt, just before noon. They’re looking for someone accused of sending death threats to a relative via text message, and possibly also vandalizing the house with an ax, but Officer Witt says they don’t know if the suspect is in the house they’re responding to – the call came from a house nearby.

(Photos showing officers were added after incident ended)
1:03 PM: Adding photo of police blocking 18th SW down the street (since it is a SWAT situation, we are not publishing any images that would show the positions of the officers around the house). As is usual in potentially volatile situations like this, our crew is being kept fairly far back. We are also monitoring the scanner here at HQ.

2:02 PM: We’re back at the scene after a side trip to the Westwood apartment fire. The situation hasn’t changed much; police are talking with the suspect, who can be heard yelling. Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen was at the scene for a while. So was a TV helicopter that police asked to back off because of noise interference. We’re adding a few more photos.

2:16 PM: Police have gone in; suspect is reported to be in custody, and is being taken to the precinct.

2:48 PM: Added photo of suspect being cuffed – we’ve blurred his face; he’s in the tank top. He was last heard observing loudly that “20,000” police cars were in the neighborhood.

Alki Community Council tonight: Slopes, shoreline, more

September 15, 2011 11:19 am
|    Comments Off on Alki Community Council tonight: Slopes, shoreline, more
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Sorry, no full-size West Seattle Thursday preview today – you can always check the Events calendar page – but there is one community meeting you might want a heads-up about: Alki Community Council meets tonight, 7 pm at Alki UCC Church (62nd/Hinds). A sure sign of fall is on the agenda – city reps talking about landslide mitigation. Also on the agenda, the “street end improvements” for the shoreline at Bronson (east of Salty’s; seattle.gov photo at left) and emergency preparedness. Full agenda here; all welcome.

Citywide weekend traffic alert, including WS Junction Car Show

It’s still technically summer, and around the city, there’s a busy slate of festivities over the next four days. SDOT is already out with its weekend traffic-alert roundup. Note that this ONLY includes events they believe might affect traffic. As such, the only West Seattle event mentioned is the WS Junction Car Show, 8 am-4 pm on Sunday, since it’s closing California SW in The Junction between SW Oregon and SW Edmunds (which means some bus re-routing, too). Read on for the entire citywide list:Read More

Admiral Neighborhood Association pushing for fewer Fauntleroy Expressway project closures

Josh Stepherson was the busiest man in West Seattle on Tuesday night. He is a consultant for the city, getting information out about the upcoming Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project. We reported on his Southwest District Council briefing last week; this week, he had three community councils to visit in one night – Junction Neighborhood Organization, Admiral Neighborhood Association, and Fauntleroy Community Association.

Because of the detours that will be involved during certain phases of the work, Admiral is arguably affected the most – and along with receiving new information, they also had some requests – read on:Read More

34th District Democrats: Investigation requested; endorsements made

(BREAKING, 4:59 PM: The Department of Neighborhoods just sent a reply to our inquiries from this morning. Included was this: They asked Unified Outreach for the $1,000 back, and received it. Separate story to come.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

We’re at The Hall at Fauntleroy, where the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting has just wrapped up. Two toplines tonight:

*First, this one came toward the end of the meeting: The group is calling for a state and city investigation into a “newspaper” published by an organization called Unified Outreach, with a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Small Sparks grant.

Unified Outreach’s director David Toledo is campaign manager for King County Council candidate Diana Toledo, and the 34th DDs allege that the group’s “Youth Arts Compendium” is “a piece of campaign literature supporting one candidate, Diana Toledo, and attempting to discredit another, [incumbent] Joe McDermott, in the King County Council District 8 race.” (Note that McDermott is a member of the 34th DDs, which has endorsed him.)

The 10-page “newspaper” includes articles headlined “Diana Toledo’s innovative plan to bring Arts back to Public Schools,” “Artist Community stands with Diana Toledo- Says fund Public School Arts,” “Senior Outrage! Candidate ‘misled us’ says senior community” (regarding an unattributed claim that “seniors” voted for McDermott because they had him confused with believed he was the son of U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott), and “Scandal at the 34th District Democrats Mid-Summer Classic” (the alleged “scandal” is which includes a claim that Joe McDermott left the group’s softball game early and was replaced by David Toledo).

(added 1 am) The publication also addresses politics with a cover story noting that all but 3 of 32 “executive-level decision-makers” in state/county/city government are white, and highlighting two issues in the County Council district in which Toledo and McDermott are running, the South Park Bridge and the Maury Island gravel mine.

The entire back page is devoted to the Toledo-McDermott race, topped with three paragraphs about the 11th District Democrats’ dual endorsement of the candidates, and also including information on the Municipal League’s rating of both candidates, with a quote about each candidate but not including the actual rating (“good” for Toledo, “very good” for McDermott), while noting in the last paragraph “It should be noted that both Candidates were also rated by the Municipal League in 2010. Candidate Diana Toledo has remained consistent in her evaluation, with no change in her rating. However, after one year in office, Joe McDermott has received a lower ranking in 2011 than he did in 2010.” (Their 2010 ratings, according to the Muni League site, were “good” for Toledo and “outstanding” for McDermott.)

The two also were mentioned in a story titled “How the Deep Bore Tunnel will destroy us,” in a list at the end of the story, with CANDIDATES FOR THE TUNNEL (Boo!) followed by eight names including Joe McDermott, and CANDIDATES AGAINST THE TUNNEL (YAY!) followed by four names including Diana Toledo. Above the list is a cartoon depicting the tunnel as a toothed hole, with caricatures of five politicians including McDermott, the only one whose full name is used in the cartoon’s dialogue (“Uh oh, Sally, we’re almost out of tax dollars!” “And the tunnel is still hungry! What else can we feed it?” “Hey Tom, you and Joe McDermott hustle us up some seniors!” “We’re on it!”).

*The rest of the story, including the scanned copy of the publication, is now after this jump*Read More

‘Everyone has the right to be on the road,’ mayor declares

Mayor McGinn has jumped into the endless bikers-vs.-cars safety squabble tonight, writing that he will take on not only specific safety issues, but attitudes: “My office will be convening a summit of community leaders, experts and elected officials to determine how best we can encourage an attitude of responsibility and empathy on the roads, and make it safer for all users.” Meantime, Cascade Bicycle Club invites everyone who’s interested to attend its media briefing tomorrow on the same topic (mentioned in this Tuesday night WSB story). It’s in North Seattle, but the two politicians who are speaking happen to be from West Seattle (City Council Transportation Committee chair Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, speaking as County Board of Health chair), 9:30 am (location and other details here).

West Seattle roads: ‘Rechannelization’ decision for SW Alaska

(Click image for full-size view)
The final decision is in, says SDOT – SW Alaska will indeed be “rechannelized” between California and Fauntleroy, adding transit lanes to parts of the stretch, a westbound bike lane on one section, and removing some parking. It’s mostly the same proposal that was circulated, though without a standalone public meeting, earlier this year (here’s our most recent story, from July.) According to a letter just sent to area “stakeholders” announcing the decision, the only notable change is that parking on SW Alaska in front of Capco Plaza (home to QFC, liquor store, future Petco) will NOT be removed. Read on for the letter from SDOT’s Jonathan Dong:Read More

West Seattle community centers: Ballroom dance; Reptile Man

As this week’s big announcement reminded us all – use your city-run community centers, or risk losing ’em. You’ve already heard about this weekend’s biggest community-center events in West Seattle (Delridge Day and Hiawatha’s Centennial) – but there’s more:

DELRIDGE DANCING: Every month, there’s a ballroom-dancing event at Delridge Community Center, and we just got the announcement that it’s coming up again this Friday afternoon, 1:30-3:30 pm. Billy writes, “As always, you will enjoy and dance to the beautiful music of Lauren Petrie. And get a chance to win a surprise prize.”

(March 2011 photo from PhinneyWood.com, used with permission)
REPTILE MAN AT HIGH POINT: Saturday morning at 10:30 am, High Point Community Center plays host to the famed Reptile Man. If you buy tickets at HPCC ahead of time, it’s $3/person; on Saturday, $5/person ($15 max per family) at the door.

Followup: ‘R’eally big thanks from Roxhill Elementary


(Click the photo to see a larger size)
A followup on the freshly repainted Roxhill Elementary “R” – done with donated labor and materials, as reported here last week – this time, with a big thank-you photo from students and staff, and words of appreciation, shared by head teacher Christopher Robert:

A huge thanks goes out to Al Keim and his brother, Tom, of Keim Construction Company. They began the process over a year ago to obtain the proper permits that the district requires for this kind of work. They spent three long days over the Labor Day weekend and worked tirelessly to paint the “R” and the building. Not only that, they gave the windows in the cafeteria a much needed washing. Al Keim donated his time and the cost of all materials and paint! We at Roxhill cannot thank him and his brother enough. Thanks also go to Rodda Paint and Berg Scaffold for their donations of paint and the scaffold used by the painters. We are so appreciative.

West Seattle traffic alert: Crash on SW Alaska

Traffic is slow going on SW Alaska between 35th and 36th SW in The Triangle right now, in front of The Grove/West Seattle Inn, because of a crash involving at least two cars. No major injuries reported – a private ambulance is there to transport one person – but it’s blocking the westbound lanes.

West Seattle schools: Getting High Point students to Denny

The Denny International Middle School students in our photo will be coming back home this afternoon on school buses provided by Seattle Public Schools – after neighborhood residents won a hard-fought victory to get that transportation. More than 60 Denny students who live in the High Point area are technically in the school’s “walk zone” – at its northern edge – but, as discussed at a community forum with SPS officials last year, were provided with public-transit passes. But as their families and neighborhood leaders explained to the district, that still didn’t work for getting them to school on a timely basis. Tom Bishop from the SPS transportation department says he investigated, and he even discovered that Metro wouldn’t get them there in time. He and Denny principal Jeff Clark worked together, he said, and discovered that two school buses headed for Denny had extra capacity, so starting today, those buses are making stops in High Point. At one of the two stops, near the HP Neighborhood Center, they even had a mini-celebration to welcome the bus (as shown in our photo), but there was a glitch: That bus didn’t show up; it went to the wrong spot, waited several minutes, found nobody, and moved on. Bishop told WSB they’ve straightened things out and both buses will be bringing the students home this afternoon, picking them up tomorrow, etc. Overall, he says, one week after the start of school, they are still working out some of the bugs in the newly overhauled transportation plan (which has fewer buses, each making more runs, in hopes of saving money).

WestSide Baby expands car-seat recycling: They’ll take ’em all

WestSide Baby has accepted car seats for recycling before – but usually, just the ones in good enough shape to reuse. Starting this Saturday, they will accept ALL used car seats – 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, bring yours to their donation HQ in White Center, 10032 15th SW (map) – so if you have one, in any condition, in the basement, the attic, the closet, the garage, bring it over! For the new campaign Re-Ride: Car Seat Reuse and Recycling for Local Children in Need, WS Baby is now partnering with recyclers Total Reclaim to enable acceptance of any and all car seats (if yours can’t be reused, they request a $5 minimum donation to help cover the cost of recycling its materials). WS Baby says they are only able to fill about HALF the requests they currently get for car seats, so widening the recycling program will hopefully help them fill more. P.S. If you can help them dismantle car seats in preparation for recycling, please contact Shana Allen at shana@westsidebaby.org or 206-767-1662.

Update: Power outage in south West Seattle over, & explained

10:22 AM: Thanks to Nathan for that photo of Seattle City Light workers digging near 45th/Roxbury (map). City Light’s Scott Thomsen tells WSB that’s where crews first found trouble while trying to trace the source of an outage that’s kept hundreds without power since yesterday afternoon. He explains, “When the calls first came in, crews found a blown fuse and limiter near Roxbury and SW 45th. Those are devices that are designed to protect the transformer and they did their job. It took a while to determine why they blew. Ultimately, crews determined that the problem was a failed underground cable. We have identified where the failure took place and crews are working right now to dig up the failed section and replace it. Estimate for restoration of service is about 2 pm.”

11:52 AM UPDATE: Nathan reports his power’s back on (and the SCL map no longer shows any outage in the area). He says neighbors wonder if the problem had any relation to the underground work in the area these past few months; we have asked SCL that question and will update when we get the answer.

1:13 PM UPDATE: From SCL’s Thomsen: “I have confirmed that this section of cable was one of those tested during our cable injection project for Brace Point. It was deemed unsuitable for injection because it had deteriorated too badly. As a result, it was scheduled for replacement, but failed before that work started.” (The “injection” relates to the “underground work” link in the 11:52 am update – some of the recent work in the area had involved boosting aging cables with silicone injections, and scheduling replacements for those that were too far gone.)

Date set for California SW ‘spot paving’ south of The Junction

(Added 11:29 am: Part of the stretch to be “spot paved,” looking south on the northbound side)
New information from SDOT today about the “spot paving” planned just south of The Junction, as first reported here last month. It’s scheduled to be done next week:

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to grind and pave in the block of California Avenue SW between Erskine Way SW and SW Hudson Street on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 20 and 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. One lane of traffic will remain open for each direction and bicycles will merge with general traffic. There will be a police officer at the intersection of California & Erskine/Edmunds to assist traffic. All sidewalks and crosswalks will remain open.

Before you ask – as noted in our August story, SDOT says it wishes it could repave California SW further south, too, but doesn’t currently have the money.

West Seattle Wednesday: Camp Fire; CoolMom; 34th Dems…

Lots going on today/tonight! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

HOME-DIALYSIS TOUR: A motor home with a home-dialysis setup will visit West Seattle Kidney Center in North Delridge 2-6 pm today (and tomorrow), and its owner, dialysis patient Jim Smith, will be available to talk with visitors – as he dialyzes. More info in our preview, published yesterday.

BIOJUNCTION SPORTS THERAPY OPEN HOUSE: We first told you back in May about BioJunction coming to Charlestown Center (home to WSB sponsor West Seattle Runner, among other businesses). Now it’s open, and inviting you to an open house this afternoon/evening, 3-9 pm (NW corner of Charlestown/California).

HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARM STAND: Haven’t been there yet? Time’s running out! Weekly farm stand, 4-7 pm, 32nd Ave SW and SW Juneau, selling fresh produce right next to where it’s grown.

LAST COMMUNITY DUWAMISH TOUR OF THE SEASON: Tonight’s the last scheduled 2011 Summer Community Kayak Tour of the season by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. RSVP to Alki Kayak Tours (206) 953-0237 (and check the start time). More info here. Tour meets at Terminal 107 Port Park (4700 West Marginal Way SW)

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CAMP FIRE: Fall information session for students/families interested in Camp Fire USA, only info session scheduled on the peninsula, West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

COOLMOM MEETING – WITH AN INCENTIVE! This fall, West Seattle’s CoolMom group has a big project – Think Outside the Car – and Terri Glaberson will be talking about it at tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, NOT the usual location – it’s at Red Cup Espresso. Meeting attendees get a bonus incentive: 20 percent coupon for online purchases from West Seattle-founded ReUsies.

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS TALK $60 CAR TABS, AND MORE: Our area’s biggest political group meets at 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, with a program including a forum (speakers both pro and con) on this fall’s $60 car-tab fee vote, to raise money for transportation projects in Seattle. The newly proposed redistricting maps will be on display too. See the full agenda here.

SECOND WEEK FOR ‘AMY’S VIEW’: The first production of the 2011-12 season, “Amy’s View,” continues at ArtsWest Playhouse in The Junction, 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 3 pm Sundays through October 1st.

New interim athletic director for West Seattle HS: Kim Depew

There’s someone new – and yet also not new – in charge of athletics this year at West Seattle High School. Assistant principal Michael Kelly provides your official introduction:

It is my pleasure to introduce Kim Depew as Interim Athletic Director at West Seattle High School. Kim has been teaching at West Seattle High School for the past fourteen years in the Science and Math Departments. Kim is an active member of the West Seattle faculty serving as Key Club Advisor, Seattle Education Association Representative, and as a class advisor.

Kim’s career includes being a varsity coach for volleyball and softball. As head softball coach for the Wildcats she has taken the team to the district playoffs. In the community Kim founded the Thunder Select Fastpitch Team. Kim is familiar with the duties of athletic directing as she was Interim Athletic Director in 2007.

Read More

Election 2011: Big West Seattle candidates’ forum planned

September 14, 2011 8:58 am
|    Comments Off on Election 2011: Big West Seattle candidates’ forum planned
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

checkbox.jpgThe November 8th general election is eight weeks away – and your ballot will be in the mail, headed your way, in just five weeks. The date is now set for what’s likely to be West Seattle’s biggest candidates’ forum of the season. At last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, Karl de Jong and Sylvia Rolle announced that the new local group VIEWS (Visualize Increased Engagement – West Seattle) will again gather together as many of the local candidates as possible for one big forum, 6 pm October 26th at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. More than 100 people were at VIEWS’ pre-primary forum at South Seattle Community College in July (WSB coverage here, here and here). This is one of at least two forums planned before November 8th; as reported here last week, local PTAs/PTSAs are putting together a School Board candidates’ forum for October 18th at Madison Middle School.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Car break-in; suspicious person

Two reader reports this morning – one, a car break-in; second, an uncomfortable encounter with someone the reader says seemed “shady” – both ahead:Read More

Memorial service announced for Brian Zombro, 1981-2011

A memorial service is planned September 24th for Brian Zombro, whose sister Kara shares this tribute:

Brian Zombro died unexpectedly on September 4, 2011 at the age of 30. Brian was a lifelong West Seattle resident who was a son, brother, and a great friend. He will be missed by many.

Brian was born on June 17, 1981. He attended Schmitz Park Elementary, Madison Middle School, and West Seattle High School. He was also a proud member of Boy Scout Troop 282. He was a skilled carpenter and electrician and a gifted musician and artist.

With his outgoing personality and ability to make everyone around him feel accepted, Brian was well known around West Seattle. Anyone who met him would know his big smile, easy laugh, and willingness to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.

Brian is survived by his mother Janet, father Jim (Nancy), sisters Kara (Louis) Erickson and Leah, maternal grandmother Betty (Andy) Nielson, his cat Blue (arguably his favorite family member) and his best friend and honorary brother Tony Hamilton. He is remembered and loved by numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins and close friends he considered family. He is preceded in death by maternal grandfather Stan Miller and paternal grandparents Ann and Walter Zombro.

Brian will be interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery as his final resting place. The family will be hosting a public memorial on September 24, 2011 at 3pm at The Georgetown Stables at 980 South Nebraska Street. For further information, please contact Kara Erickson at klzombro@yahoo.com.

“They shall not grow old as we who are left to grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn… In our hearts and in our minds, their devotion and acts will always be remembered. To us, they have found immortality.”