West Seattle, Washington
13 Monday
At right with Democratic governor candidate Rep. Jay Inslee are, left, Farhiya Mohamed, and at right, Shukri Olow, High Point community builder – Shukri put together tonight’s forum at High Point Community Center, during which he spoke to and with an audience of more than 50 people. Their questions touched on topics from health care to jobs and beyond; we recorded the forum on video and will add it to this story once it’s ready here it is. (added 12:39 am)
The sponsoring High Point Neighborhood Association invited Republican candidate Attorney General Rob McKenna as well, but says he told them he could not attend. (He sent a representative.)
Three notes of interest in the weekly list of closures/changes, just out: First – next Friday night, March 22nd, southbound Highway 99 is scheduled to close overnight between Denny Way and S. Spokane St. … We first told you last week about the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure planned for early March 24th through early March 26th, for the semi-annual inspection; that’s still on the list. … From March 26th through April 6th, the 1st Avenue South offramp from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge is scheduled to be closed around the clock for surface paving. The 4th Avenue “loop” offramp will stay open. … More details of all this can be found here.
(Scroll down for tonight’s newest info)
(Monday photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
2:32 PM: Three days after a woman was found dead in the water off Beach Drive, near Cormorant Cove Park – as covered here extensively on Monday – Seattle Police finally have announced that it’s being investigated as a murder case.
We have checked daily since then, and until this afternoon, they would only characterize it as a “death investigation.” But now, here’s what police are saying:
Seattle Police are asking the public for assistance in an active homicide investigation. On March 12th at approximately 7:30 a.m. a citizen reported seeing a body floating in Puget Sound approximately 30 feet off-shore of the 3800 block of Beach Drive SW.
Officers and detectives responded to the scene and have since determined that the deceased, a 51-year-old female from Kent, was murdered.
Homicide detectives believe the victim (photo right) parked her car in the 4400 block of Beach Drive SW on Sunday night, March 11th. The victim had planned to take a walk along the beach but was found deceased just offshore the next morning. The suspect(s) remain at large.
If you have information about this incident or if you saw any suspicious activity, vehicles or persons in the area on the evening of Sunday, March 11th, please call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome. You can also call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Police say the cause of death will have to be released by the Medical Examiner, which also will be the source for her name; we have heard a name from a source but will not publish it until we have confirmed it with the Medical Examiner. Police also have released this photo of her car, a 2010 Buick Lacrosse, which appears to have been photographed across from Me-Kwa-Mooks, a few blocks south of where her body was found:
Police added this to their report on SPD Blotter:
The Seattle Police would like to remind everyone to be vigilant and aware of your surroundings anytime you are outdoors and especially in the hours of darkness. This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation.
This is the second murder of the year in West Seattle; the first was a deadly shooting next to Morgan Junction Park in January (a suspect is jailed and awaiting another hearing next month).
3:20 PM UPDATE: The Medical Examiner identifies the victim as Greggette Guy but says final word on how she died is “pending.”
ADDED 5:35 PM: For those not familiar with the Beach Drive area, here’s a Google Map showing the spots where Ms. Guy’s body was found and where her car was found:
One commenter wondered if flyers would be distributed in the area, to reach those who don’t see news reports about this (citywide organizations have picked it up now); we have heard from two police sources that flyers are indeed planned. (Let us know if you see any – we don’t know the timetable, but have already taken one drive through the area to look.)
6:29 PM UPDATE: We just received a scan of the flyer from Richard Worthington of Seattle Real Estate Associates (WSB sponsor):
He says police are indeed canvassing the area to ask if anyone saw anything or anybody out of the ordinary.
Another milestone in the work to convert certain stops along the path of Metro Route 54 to stops/stations for the coming-this-fall RapidRide C Line: The first shelters are going up today. As of a few minutes ago, they are complete at Fauntleroy/Rose (shown in our photos), across from the central parking lot at Lincoln Park, and Fauntleroy/Webster, by Solstice Park. These have more features than the bare-bones bench-and-sign stop we photographed last Sunday by Fauntleroy Church – they have an outside bench and one under-the-shelter seat:
The “stations” nearest to this stop will be at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal and at California/Fauntleroy – those will have electronic displays showing when the next bus is due to arrive. Here’s a C Line route map – the dark dots are stations, while light dots are “stops.” RapidRide service is scheduled to start in West Seattle in September.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
*In the 4100 block of 25th SW, a woman let her dog out into her fenced yard. A stranger approached and began taunting the dog and causing it to bark. When told to leave, he responded “What are you going to do about it?” “Call the police,” the woman replied. Fortunately she took her dog inside, because the suspect quickly returned with a large dog, opened the gate, and came into the yard. He began yelling and kicking the fence but left before officers arrived. Based on the subject description, the dog description, and the fact that he could return so quickly, officers thought they knew both who they were looking for and where he lived. When they went to his home, the suspect refused to answer the door, said he hadn’t done anything and invited them to “F*#@ off” if they didn’t have a warrant.
*A local couple fell victim to a scam and wired $5,600 “bail money” after receiving a phone call claiming their granddaughter had been arrested. Before sending more funds, they discovered that their granddaughter was fine and was at home in her college town.
11 more summaries ahead:Read More
The unpredictable weather has led to high avalanche danger in the Cascades – and it’s already been a deadly season. But there’s some equipment available that can help boost a skier/snowboarder’s chances of avalanche survival – and one device was “test-fired” this afternoon at Mountain to Sound Outfitters in the Triangle; we stopped by to catch it on video. M2SO’s Greg Whittaker explains that the BCA Float 18 Avalanche Airbag system “can help a skier or snowboarder survive a large-magnitude avalanche by keeping them at the top of the slide to avoid trauma associated with moving snow. The Float 18 also helps victims stay on top so that they can be spotted by rescuers, as it only takes one finger to give someone a clue as to where to look.” Backcountry Access tech rep Chris Simmons – a West Seattle resident – narrated the demo. The device retails for about $700, and you can see it at M2SO (3602 SW Alaska). P.S. Yes, its air tank is refillable.
Lots of news about reading and books this week – and here’s more. Tonight, Sanislo Elementary invites you to its Literacy Night event – 6-7 pm, “Passport to the World,” with storytelling/reading in Russian, Mandarin, and Spanish. Then on Saturday, it’s the famous Sanislo Used Book Sale, benefiting the 4th graders’ annual overnight camping trip – 10 am-2 pm (March 17th). Sanislo is at 1812 SW Myrtle.
(Added 11:39 am: Big puddle at Fauntleroy/Raymond and Seafair-esque hydroplaning)
A few notes for tonight, before we get too much further into the day:
BRIDGE CLOSURE: We’re checking with SDOT to see if weather will affect this, but in the meantime, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to close tonight overnight – that means no access to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill. Details here. (11:45 am note, SDOT confirms it’s still on.)
INSLEE VISITS WEST SEATTLE: High Point Neighborhood Association presents forum with Democratic governor candidate Rep. Jay Inslee (organizers say Republican candidate Attorney General Rob McKenna was invited too but is unable to attend), 5:30 pm, HP Community Center, preview here.
CHICKEN CHAT: 6:15 pm, “Keeping Chickens in the City,” presented by Seattle Free School at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. Details and registration link here.
DELRIDGE DESC PROJECT, ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT COMMENTS: 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, there’s a city meeting to listen to comments about the environmental impacts of the DESC project (as noted here) – in the context of state law, “environmental” means more than “ecological,” it includes traffic, noise, etc.
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: 7 pm meeting tonight, Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).
LIVE MUSIC AT SKYLARK: Live music @ Skylark Café – PeopleTank, The Slags, and Gunn & The Damage Done, 9 pm, $5, 21+. Here’s the Facebook event page./
(Scroll down for updates on the outage and other weather woes)
8:09 AM: Looks like another round of wild weather moving through. And while we’re not sure yet if it’s weather-related, Martha in Arbor Heights reports a power outage. She’s at the end of 35th near Seola Park and says it went out about an hour ago. The outage is not on the City Light map and we haven’t reached them for confirmation yet, but she says that when she called it in, they told her 106 homes were affected. Meantime, the National Weather Service has a “short-term” forecast alert for heavy rain, up to half an inch an hour, this morning.
8:35 AM UPDATE: Not far from Martha’s location at the end-of-35th bend, a tree on SW Seola Lane (map) is apparently to blame for the outage, according to Tbone‘s note in comments and a 6 am “wires down” listing on the 911 log.
9:41 AM UPDATE: Added a photo of the tree trouble at Seola Lane/Seola Beach Drive. City Light’s Scott Thomsen, meantime, confirmed the outage and said it should be fixed by early afternoon. He also says the SCL outage map is fixed now.
10:05 AM UPDATE: Massive downpour for the past few minutes, in line with the Weather Service’s warning (above), though a little past their timeframe.
10:55 AM UPDATE: Sage K sends word that the Delridge onramp to the West Seattle Bridge is flooded again and should be avoided. We’re going to check that out.
11:56 AM UPDATE: Seattle Public Utilities crew was on scene at the Delridge ramp puddle, clearing the drain, when we arrived. (Besides the crew members in our photo, they had a vacuum truck there, too.) Meantime, we have an update from City Light on the Seola outage:
Crew is on site. They’ve isolated the damage to restore most customers. 23 are still out. Two spans of wire are down. Estimate for restoration of service for the remaining customers is about 2:30 pm.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The decisions made during the first meeting of the newly announced Design Team for West Seattle’s new public school, K-5 STEM at Boren, were primarily logistical.
Wednesday night’s meeting at Seattle Public Schools‘ headquarters in SODO was mostly a getting-to-know-you and stage-setting event – the opening act of five-and-a-half intensive months of work to give birth to a new school.
“You are doing very important work,” declared Dr. Cathy Thompson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning (and a West Seattleite), to the 14 (of 16) design-team members who assembled for the history-making session.
She also pronounced the new school “a viable entity … good to go,” saying 141 applications already had been counted as of Tuesday, and that more were expected as the district continued to process what it received during open enrollment, which ended Monday afternoon. They expect to “max out” at three kindergarten classes and two each for 1st through 5th grades.
From Marcus Pimpleton, news about some of his Chief Sealth International High School musicians – including an event coming up weekend after next:
Please join me in congratulating the following Sealth students who were selected for Commendation Awards from the 2012 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. The award states that the students were selected for “giving a Superior Solo Performance within an Ensemble or Combo.”
Spencer Duncan, piano
Janelle Maroney, voice
Will McMinn, alto sax
Paal Nilssen, alto sax
Cameron Nakatani, trumpet
Nehemiah Parker, trombone
Emma Pierce, clarinet(You can see all these students in action and many more at the Big Band Dinner dance on March 24th – see below for more on that:
On Saturday, March 24th, from 6-10 pm, please join the jazz ensembles of Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School for a night of jazz music, dinner, and dancing in the Chief Sealth International H.S. Galleria. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students. Dinner will feature Otis Pimpleton’s awesome barbecue chicken, chicken gumbo from the New Orleans restaurant, red potatoes, baked beans, rice, and cornbread. A vegetarian option is available upon request and attendees will enjoy the sounds of the Denny Jazz Band, Chief Sealth High School Jazz Ensembles I and II, and the West Seattle Big Band. Students interested in dancing without the dinner, can purchase a special dance-only ticket for $10. This will be a fun night…. please come out and support our jazz students.
A memorial service and celebration of life is planned this Sunday for longtime West Seattle resident Kathleen Nickels, whose obituary and photo are shared by her family:
Kathleen Anne Nickels of Seattle passed away on March 11, 2012 after a heroic 15-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Kathleen Anne McKenney was born July 15, 1929, in Dixon, Illinois. She was the third of five children born to George Jerome McKenney and Helen Bernice Ryan. George worked for the Illinois Central Railroad and Helen was a public-school teacher.
After graduating from Dixon High School, Kathie attended St. Anthony College of Nursing in Rockford and did her residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. While in Chicago she met Robert Nickels and they were married January 23, 1954 in Dixon.
The couple lived first in Chicago, where their first child, Gregory James, was born. In early 1956 they moved to Erie, Pennsylvania where three additional children were born: John Mark, Peter Robert and Amy Beth. Kathleen was very active in church activities in Erie.
(WSB photo of Mural, completed and opened in 2009)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The new combined entity that includes what was Harbor Properties, developer/owner of the Link and Mural mixed-use buildings in West Seattle (both WSB sponsors), confirms they’re in talks to sell both buildings.
We spoke this afternoon with executives from the new partnership, four weeks after our first report with some information about what was brewing.
Since that time, at least two citywide publications have reported that Mural had been sold – but in reality, it was a transfer to one of the entities with which Harbor is now merged, as part of the deal.
Our conference-call interview this afternoon – following the circulation of an official news release – included Harbor Properties president/CEO Doug Daley, as well as Matt Burton of Urban Partners and Jim Atkins, managing director of the newly named Harbor Urban LLC.
They say the deal, a purchase of Harbor more than a merger, is virtually complete.
“We started evaluating a couple years ago ways to provide a return to our shareholders,” Daley explained. “The new, combined company (will) be able to do more of the same thing Harbor’s been doing” – primarily mixed-use “infill” development on lots within urban areas, as was the case on Link (4550 38th SW) and Mural (4727 42nd SW).
From last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, that’s Gordon Wiehler and Bruce Butterfield with a new sign for next week’s annual membership meeting, also known as the Fauntleroy Food Fest (6 pm March 20th at The Hall at Fauntleroy). But there’s another new face that FCA is presenting, and proud of:
The FCA website at fauntleroy.net has just relaunched with an all-new look. It’s always been an information-laden website, but somewhat plain; Irene Stewart is responsible for the re-do. Still a few tweaks ahead, but the new front page in particular won rave reviews.
Back to the Food Fest, and a Cove Park “Big Dig” recap – read on:Read More
SDOT just sent around a reminder that the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will close Thursday and Friday nights, which also affects West Seattle Bridge access from I-5:
The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation on the Spokane Street Viaduct (the elevated roadway between the West Seattle Bridge and I-5) will close the viaduct to westbound traffic between I-5 and SR 99 on Thursday and Friday nights, March 15 and 16 from 10 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning. This will close direct access to West Seattle via the Spokane Street Viaduct from both northbound and southbound I-5. (Motorists traveling southbound on SR 99 will still be able to access the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge.)
Southbound traffic from I-5 wishing to reach West Seattle can detour by exiting I-5 at S Forest Street, turning right (northbound) onto Sixth Avenue S, then turning left (westbound) onto S Lander Street, turning left again (southbound) at First Avenue S, then turning right (westbound) at S Hanford, turning left onto E Marginal Way S, and finally turning right (westbound) onto the lower S Spokane Street roadway and across the swing bridge into West Seattle. Northbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should exit the freeway at the Sixth Avenue S off-ramp, and then follow the same detour route outlined above. Detour signs will help motorists follow the designated route.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
West Seattle’s fourth publicly advertised medical-marijuana outlet has just opened. It’s the first one located in a mixed-use building – in this case, a senior-housing complex.
Sure Can Access Point opened this morning in Arrowhead Gardens‘ retail area at 9240 2nd SW, Suite 200. (“Access point” is a type of medical-marijuana facility – the “point” where patients can procure what’s produced by “collective gardens.”) After we interviewed owner Damon Grady by phone on Tuesday, he invited us to stop by for photos after they opened the doors this morning.
Three restaurant notes today, all from The Junction:
EX-GARLIC JIM’S TO BECOME ROUND TABLE PIZZA? That’s the way it looks, from a liquor-license application that just turned up online. A Round Table Pizza franchisee has applied for a beer/wine license at 4520 California SW, which is where Garlic Jim’s Pizza shut down six months ago after multiple ownership changes. Last time we looked at the restaurant’s for-sale listing (which is no longer active), the verbiage had changed to “Does not have to be a Garlic Jim’s.” The prospective licensee owns other Round Table franchises, including the nearest one – in Burien – where we have left a message seeking more info on the West Seattle plan.
NEW MENU FOR BANG BAR: This note is from Kay Fuengarom, proprietor of Bang Bar Thai Restaurant and Lounge in The Junction:
After being in the great West Seattle neighborhood for a little more than 8 months, we decided that it is time to do what we are best at which is the “authentic Thai cuisine.” We listened to every comment that we got from all of our customers and have been thinking about them thoughtfully, that they all love us, love the food, love the ambience, but they wish that they can come to Bang Bar more often. The facts being that our prices might be higher than most Thai restaurants but we really do use great quality ingredients and big and fresh seafood. We want to give the customers different choices and options to choose from. We now know that we should go back to our original authentic Thai menu that we planned before we opened the restaurant back in June of 2011. This menu offers over 100 items to choose from – lunch is at $7.95, lunch combinations at $9.95, dinner menu entrees start at $9.95, seasonal Bang Bar Signatures menu that will have all the Chef’s special dishes, we still have our happy hours menu at $5 and $6; happy hours martinis at $5. Now we’ve applied the restaurant concept that we use for our other two restaurants to Bang Bar: “Great Food, Good Service, Reasonable Price, Nice Atmosphere.”
NEW MENUS AT FRESH BISTRO: Also announcing new menus, Fresh Bistro at 4725 42nd SW: They now have a gluten-free menu (see it here) and a “vegetarian-friendly” menu (see it here).
Happy Pi(e) Day! Tonight’s highlights, fast: 6 pm, the Design Team for the new school K-5 STEM at Boren meets at Seattle Public Schools HQ (map) … 7 pm, the 34th District Democrats meet at The Hall at Fauntleroy (here’s the agenda) … Also at 7, West Seattle CoolMom meets at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), discussing “the secrets of home composting.”
We’ve been celebrating West Seattle students’ accomplishments in the Global Reading Challenge. Now, here’s an opportunity to help give the gift of literacy to youth around the world. Martha Sidlo e-mailed us on behalf of the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
Your donation of new and lightly used books will be gratefully accepted by the West Seattle Rotary Club on Saturday, March 17th, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the empty used car lot on the southeast corner of SW Alaska Street and 40th Avenue SW – just west of the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home at 3909 SW Alaska Street. Books will be distributed to underserved communities in South Africa, Haiti and Guatemala through Rotary’s Books for the World – 2012 campaign. Cash donations of any amount are welcome to help with the cost of shipping the books overseas. Make checks payable to “5030 Service Fund” and send West Seattle Rotary, c/o Martha Sidlo, 7500 34th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98126.
We asked what kinds of books they’re looking for:
Books for all ages are welcome, for example: Picture/story books (pre-K and up), teen and adult fiction, K-12 textbooks in sets of 10 or more (world history is okay; U.S. history is discouraged), current professional books (medical books, international law, etc.), encyclopedia sets (less than 20 years old), as well as magazines such as National Geographic or Smithsonian (please, no news magazines).
After our report from an Arbor Heights parent about that school making it to the Global Reading Challenge‘s citywide finals, we heard from the Alki Elementary community:
Another West Seattle Elementary School has advanced to the All-City Finals of the Global Reading Challenge!! The team called George’s Magician’s Treasure from Alki scored 115 out of 120 points at Monday’s semi-finals at the downtown library. From left in the photo above: Marcus, Gracie, Alina, Georgia, Jaylin, Alex and Carl. Go West Seattle!!
Congratulations to the readers! Anyone else from WS in the finals? Let us know!
We lost count at three blasts of snow/hail today – at least one, followed by sunshine. Thanks to everyone who shared photos; we’re finally getting a chance to check them out, and this is the first one we wanted to share – Michaela took photos during the West Seattle High School soccer game, which included sun as well as snow! (According to the scoreboard published by our partners at the Seattle Times, Ingraham beat WSHS 11-0.)
ADDED: JayDee‘s view of the “storm train,” seen from Upper Alki:
From The Junction this afternoon, the snow shower that hit just before 4 pm:
And not far away, WSB contributor Katie Meyer caught the sights and sounds of the afternoon’s hail:
Still a chance of snow showers till late Wednesday morning, say the forecasters.
ORIGINAL 9:55 PM REPORT: Dave shared this tonight in hopes of helping fellow bicycle commuters:
I wanted to pass on some construction I unexpectedly encountered today. I bike to work from the Junction to Boeing Field via West Marginal Way. Today I encountered an SDOT crew on the bike path just south of the longhouse. On return this afternoon, I found that they had the bike path ground down to bare gravel, sand, dirt, and mud (thanks afternoon snow/rain storm). The stretch from from the long house headed southbound to where the path recrosses the railroad tracks just north of LaFarge is ground down and in this condition. Just wanted to pass on this information as that surface is very treacherous now, especially for road bikes. All of the equipment is there, so it may be paved by the end of the day tomorrow.
We’ll check with SDOT in the morning – hadn’t heard about this previously.
ADDED 9:31 AM WEDNESDAY: SDOT says the work will continue throughout the week. Read on for their news release:Read More
Tomorrow night, the newly announced Design Team for the new K-5 STEM at Boren school will meet for the first time. Tonight, the school’s first principal visited West Seattle – she is still on the job as a principal in Tucson – to meet families and other community members. In our photo, principal-to-be Dr. Shannon McKinney is in the center with, at left, West Seattle’s School Board rep Marty McLaren and, at right, the district’s executive director of West Seattle-area schools, Aurora Lora. Dr. McKinney is expected to move up here next month to start work getting ready to launch the new school; we hope tomorrow’s meeting will include information about how many families applied for admission to the new school during the open-enrollment period that ended just yesterday.
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