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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car theft with a semi-happy ending
May 6, 2009 2:33 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

We got two notes about this car theft but, before we could publish an item, a third note came in, saying the car had been found. Now, here’s the fourth note – tying up the story neatly (and neighbors may want to know a car thief’s at work nearby):

My wife and I thought we’d let you know her Honda Accord was stolen last night (we live on 37th Ave SW between Myrtle and Willow [map]) but thankfully recovered about a mile north of us on 32nd Ave SW. No serious damage but my wife’s phone charger was stolen (they left her $150 sunglasses, whew!). The thieves left the car turned on and the engine running – not long after we called the police the car was reported by neighbors who thought it odd a strange car would be left outside their house running all morning. It still had plenty of gas in it, though, and my wife happily drove off to work and we parted ways with the nice officers who responded quickly, Hope and Morales.

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Followup: Details on the school district’s Jefferson Square deal
May 6, 2009 10:15 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

A week and a half ago, a WSB’er tip pointed us to a fine-print public notice that Seattle Public Schools has scheduled a public hearing on a deal to sell part of the property it owns at Jefferson Square. As we noted in this April 27 report, the hearing had not been announced with a news release, nor could the notice (or any details of the deal) be found anywhere on the school district’s website, and as West Seattle’s school-board rep Steve Sundquist subsequently confirmed to WSB, the proposed deal itself hadn’t yet been discussed in an open meeting – only behind closed doors in an “executive session.” Nonetheless, it’s difficult to imagine a public hearing going well if the public has no advance information on what’s going to be discussed, so we pressed SPS for more details, to enable us to share them with you; it took a week, but we finally have those details, as forwarded by David Tucker from the SPS communications team:

The school was closed nearly 30 years ago. The District leased it for 99 years to a developer who built the existing complex on site.

In the year following the original lease, the developer asked for the lease to be split into two parts. One would be for the residential portion of the site and one for the commercial portion. All of the rental charges would apply to the commercial property, and we currently receive over $200,000 $173,226** annually.

The apartment building sits atop the commercial structure. Conceptually, the residential lease is for “air rights”, and not of the land itself. In addition, the residential tenant is entitled to “support” of the apartment structure.

The residential lease has been assigned several times, and is currently held by Jefferson Square LLC. The lease contains a provision that gives the tenant the right to purchase the residential area for $1. In 2007 the tenant sent the District a notice it was exercising the option.

Even though the lease still has 75 years to run, and the District will receive no rent for the residential portion during that time, the District refused to sell the property, believing the $1 amount to be inadequate compensation.

The tenant sued the District over the refusal to sell. In March 2009 the parties reached a tentative agreement to allow the sale to proceed, but at a price of $500,000. The agreement is subject to School Board approval, which has not yet been requested.

In accordance with state law, the District will hold a public hearing, which is scheduled for May 21. At that hearing the District will take public testimony on whether the sale should occur. The District must also obtain an appraisal of the fair market value of the property interest, which has been ordered but is not yet available.

Once these two items are completed, the proposed sale will be presented to the School Board for their consideration.

The May 21st hearing is at 5:30 pm in the cafeteria at Gatewood Elementary; if you’d like to sign up in advance to speak (the district says you also can sign up that night), call 206-252-0118. This would be one of two pending sales of district-owned property in West Seattle; the other is the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse deal (most recent WSB coverage here).

**12:49 PM UPDATE: SPS’s David Tucker sent a note updating the information he provided – he had said the rent was more than $200,000 but now says it’s actually $173,226. Also, we have found the original lawsuit, filed in 2007 as mentioned, online – it contains a copy of the original lease, for anyone interested – view the lawsuit here; the district’s original response can be viewed here. (Court documents do not include anything related to the proposed deal except a notice from late March asking that the case’s scheduled trial be put on hold because a settlement had been worked out and it was anticipated the School Board would approve it.)

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Targeted by burglars, a third time
May 5, 2009 11:54 pm
|      32 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Out of the WSB inbox, from J:

I would like to share the fact we had the 3rd burglary today (2 break-ins
and 1 attempt) since we moved to 41st and Thistle [map] about two years ago. At least one of the thugs squeezed through an 8″x12″ window in the basement (seriously?). They set the alarm off, but apparently it didn’t stop them from stabbing the alarm panel speaker with a large kitchen knife (baaad speaker, you!). They didn’t harm the horn.

Then they just ripped the alarm panel off the wall – the alarm company reported anyway because it has a battery.

It was a rainy day, so they made a big mess. They decided to leave all other expensive toys and went only for the LCD TV (lucky us). Although, they wrapped the TV with our most favorite blanket.

The cats had a short, but nice time outside until I arrived.

This was at 5:20 pm, open, exposed corner lot in the rainy but bright afternoon. Besides caring less to do this while I usually would have been home already (I wish so badly that I was!), the two guys wearing rubber gloves, hauling a large size TV out of a house with the alarm in the background, the TV covered up sparsely with a blanket and leaving the door open.?

Hey people, come on! They might not look like they live here, nor do I believe their car has ever been seen on our street and they were for sure covered in dirt from crawling under the muddy deck – yet not one person has seen or heard anything. What can we do, if we are all working during the day in this area and the thugs get more and more desperate?

Ah well, one day I’ll catch one.

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Chief Sealth High School celebrates Cinco de Mayo – and an award!
May 5, 2009 5:05 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | West Seattle video

Those dancers were part of Chief Sealth High School‘s Cinco de Mayo assembly earlier this afternoon – and the assembly ended with a bonus: Seattle Seahawks reps (including defensive tackle Craig Terrill) were there to present Sealth teacher Nancy Ruyzcki with the Symetra MVP award (officially announced last December), which brings the school a $20,000 grant and what Sealth’s Sam Reed describes as “a complete set of laptop computers that will be for use by our students in a mobile-classroom setting” – see ’em here:

Terrill also led the students in a cheer – noting that he’s a Seahawk and they (because of the Chief Sealth mascot) are Seahawks too:

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Sheriff’s deputies investigate death outside Roxbury Safeway
May 5, 2009 4:01 pm
|      37 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

(photo of Sheriff’s Office and Medical Examiner units at store, added 4:36 pm)
Thanks to Heather for sending us a note saying she had just seen King County Sheriff’s Deputies and what looked like a body outside Roxbury Safeway (map). We called KCSO’s media spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart and he confirms, yes, it’s a body. Two men walked up carrying what was at first described as an unconscious woman; medics arrived and reported obvious signs she was already dead. Sgt. Urquhart says it’s too soon to speculate on the circumstances and whether a crime was involved, but he does say the investigators are looking into the possibility that the men and woman might be related to a “nearby homeless camp.” We’re on our way over to try to find out more. 4:14 PM UPDATE: Medical Examiner staffers are at the scene, investigating with deputies. Shoppers are being routed around the scene, which is out in front by the soda machines.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: The Alki shooting police report
May 5, 2009 3:35 pm
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

While at the Southwest Precinct late last night looking at reports including the Morgan Junction anti-gay vandalism case (WSB coverage here), we also found the police report from Friday night’s Alki shooting. Not all of the 44-page report is public, but there are a few additional details of interest – read on:Read More

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Morgan Junction park officially named “Morgan Junction Park”
May 5, 2009 2:11 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

We broke the news a week and a half ago that the city Parks Department had recommended naming the new Morgan Junction park “Morgan Junction Park,” pending Superintendent Tim Gallagher‘s approval, and today the department announced that’s been finalized as its official name. The park, which opened last month after construction concluded, is to be dedicated June 13 during the Morgan Community Festival. The official announcement explains, “The Parks Naming Committee considered some 17 nominations, and after applying the criteria in the Park Naming Policy, unanimously recommended the name Morgan Junction Park because it acknowledges the history and location of the park.” (Among the other nominations was, of course, Tim St. Clair Park, in honor of the longtime West Seattle journalist who died last year; department naming policy says it can’t be done till someone’s been gone three years.) The park is on California SW, just north of the newly revitalized business block with Zeeks Pizza (opened May 1st), Feedback Lounge (opened April 25th) and Beveridge Place Pub (moved a year ago), near the Morgan/Fauntleroy/California “junction” intersection, and was the former site of an auto-repair shop, once purchased with the intent of development as a future monorail station before that transit project was killed. West Seattle still has three more new parks in the works — Junction Plaza Park, the newly covered Myrtle Reservoir site, and new parkland where West Seattle Reservoir in Westcrest Park is being covered. P.S. Got ideas for where money from last year’s Parks Levy should be spent? Wednesday night is your chance to offer comments at a meeting at West Seattle Golf Course, 7 pm.

ADDED 5:22 PM: Couldn’t resist asking Dewey Potter at Parks what the other name suggestions were. The reply:

Morgan Park
Deputy Steve Cox Park
Eddie Alvarez Park
Charlie Chong Park
Beveridge Place Park
Bicycle Park
The Whistle Stop Plaza
Walter R. Hundley Park
Quincy Jones Park

or after:
Ken Griffey Jr.
Tina Turner
Dorothy Dandridge
Lena Horne
Jesse Owens

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West Seattle woman dies in Thailand; food poisoning suspected
May 5, 2009 12:39 pm
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Shannon Felix, proprietor of Avalon Glassworks in the Luna Park district, sends this news: 27-year-old West Seattle resident Jill St. Onge has died in Thailand, one of two tourists whose deaths are suspected to be linked to food poisoning. Ms. St. Onge worked at Shadow Land, where we took the photo at left during last year’s Junction Trick-or-Treating. She and the other woman who died, a 22-year-old from Norway, were staying at a guest house on Phi Phi Island, according to this article from a local news site, the Andaman Times. The story quotes Ryan Kells, Ms. St. Onge’s fiance, an Avalon Glassworks employee who was traveling with her. Ms. St. Onge had been writing about their travels on this personal website; the last update was a week before her death. The Andaman Times article says an autopsy is being done in Bangkok to find out more about what killed her. Ms. St. Onge and Kells were supposed to return home next week after 3 months overseas. ADDED 4:48 PM: Thanks to Shell for finding and sharing this link – a website set up by family/friends to tell more about what happened to Ms. St. Onge and what’s happening now.

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The Kenney previews new design that saves the Seaview building
May 5, 2009 12:03 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Development | The Kenney | West Seattle news

That’s architect Gene Guszkowski, showing one of the new renderings that his firm AG Architecture has drawn up since The Kenney changed its mind about demolishing the iconic century-old Seaview building as part of the $150 million redevelopment project it’s been working on since last summer (first WSB report here). He presented the new plan last night at Fauntleroy Church during a community meeting organized by the Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association; as MoCA’s new president Deb Barker put it, “The owners and architects are here to get feedback from you”:

Barker is a former chair of the Southwest Design Review Board, whose current members will see The Kenney’s proposal a week from Thursday (6:30 pm 5/14, Senior Center of West Seattle). So what feedback was offered last night by the 30-plus in attendance? Read on for details and more photos:Read More

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Cat adopt-a-thon at Alki Community Center on Saturday
May 5, 2009 11:13 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

Saturday is already a great shopping day because of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (here’s how to get The Map!) – if you’re in the market for a new pet too, check out adoptable foster cats at Alki Community Center. (The one pictured at left got a home during the last West Seattle adoption event in November.) We posted this in the WSB Forums yesterday but wanted to mention it here too while we have a moment – read on for the official announcement:Read More

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See where West Seattle’s 3 new traffic cameras will go
May 5, 2009 9:38 am
|    Comments Off on See where West Seattle’s 3 new traffic cameras will go
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

Right now, the city Transportation Department (SDOT) has just three West Seattle traffic cameras that you can see online – not counting the ones on The Bridge. One is the camera shown above, at Fauntleroy/Alaska (all city traffic cameras are viewable from the Travelers’ Information Map). We’ve just learned that the number of West Seattle traffic cameras, viewable online, is about to grow. We discovered this while checking out an online notice about the city taking bids for more work in a traffic-technology program, with a mention of West Seattle. Subsequent checks directly with SDOT yielded information about the program, and the locations of the next three West Seattle traffic cameras: two in The Junction — California/Alaska and 42nd/Alaska — and one near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal, at Fauntleroy/Trenton – we’ve mapped the three locations here:


View Untitled in a larger map

The ITS contract that’s going out to bid also lists work at other spots where sensors will be installed for real-time traffic information, plus a role in the forthcoming Metro RapidRide bus service — with the first bus unveiled yesterday (here’s our coverage, with photos) — as explained by SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan:

… the advertisement for bids refers to Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components that SDOT is installing citywide. We are adding devices to improve traffic flow efficiency and provide roadway related information to the city and travelers. These enhancements help improve safety and travel times, and reduce fuel consumption and pollution.

SDOT is currently updating many signal cabinets to facilitate future Rapid Ride corridors. For West Seattle these changes will occur along SW Alaska Street, 35th Avenue SW and Fauntleroy Way SW. The cabinets and associated fiber optics will let our system detect buses as they approach signalized intersections. If a bus is detected and the signal is about to turn red for the bus, the signal instead will extend the green for the bus in order to reduce delays for riders.

No date yet for when the three new cameras will be in operation; you can see the existing ones, plus a few state/county cameras of relevance to local drivers, “live” any time at the WSB Traffic page.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind advisory till 11 am
May 5, 2009 1:31 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

If you’re seeing this close to the time we’re publishing it, you know it’s blustery out there, to say the least. Here’s the advisory reminder issued by the National Weather Service late Monday night:

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE PUGET SOUND AREA AND NORTHWEST INTERIOR UNTIL 11 AM PDT TUESDAY.

SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING. THE WINDS WILL BE SOUTH OR SOUTHEAST THIS EVENING…THEN SHIFT TO SOUTHWEST OVERNIGHT. THE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH BEGINNING MIDDAY TUESDAY.

We’ll be watching the morning commute even more closely than usual, just in case of wind/water trouble; please post a comment here (or call us, 206-293-6302) if anything notable happens in your neighborhood.

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Trial set to start for West Seattle officer’s accused attackers
May 5, 2009 1:16 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

gavel.jpgIt was a story we covered last summer, starting with the story of a shocking attack, continuing with a heartening community outpouring of well-wishes: Southwest Precinct Officer Jason McKissack was attacked and seriously injured eleven months ago while responding to a call in High Point. Days later, in an effort led by the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, hundreds of people sent him get-well wishes and messages of gratitude. Fast-forward to yesterday: While talking with Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler about Alki police presence, for this followup to last week’s shooting, we learned that not only is Officer McKissack still not back at work, but that the trial of his accused attackers — identified at the time as two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old girl — is about to begin. According to information we subsequently obtained from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, trial is set to start today, before King Co. Superior Court Judge Tim Bradshaw at the county courthouse downtown, and will likely last about a week; we have heard from at least one West Seattle resident who is scheduled to testify as a witness.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Morgan Junction vandalism investigated
May 4, 2009 8:43 pm
|      43 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

(photo added Tuesday afternoon)
Police are investigating repeat graffiti vandalism on the garage door of a California Ave home in Morgan Junction where two men live, and citywide media reports describe the vandalism as involving a “homophobic slur.” We linked this seattlepi.com story about it to the Crime Watch page earlier today; now we’ve gotten word that at least one TV crew is there tonight covering the story – here’s the link to channel 13’s online story, sent to us by a West Seattleite who wrote:

It seems like some sort of call-to-action with your reader-base could help find whoever’s doing it. It’s on a busy street – so someone has to have witnessed something (they’ve done it three times over this last weekend!) … this is just the type of thing a neighborhood can prevent when we come together.

We don’t have the police report on this yet but will be working to obtain it. 9:27 PM UPDATE: We’re at the precinct now, and the report is available – read on for a transcription of what it says about this incident, with names and profanities deleted:Read More

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Alki shooting followup: Captain discusses police presence plan
May 4, 2009 4:08 pm
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

As discussion intensified in the comment section following our as-it-happened coverage of Friday night’s Alki shooting (original report here, today’s first followup here) – which sent a 19-year-old to the hospital, with the shooter/s still at large – many people asked about police presence at the beach — is it less than before; whether it is or not, should there be more? So we put in a request to talk with the man who’s in charge of West Seattle police, the commander of the Southwest Precinct, Captain Joe Kessler. First thing this morning, he sat down with WSB for more than an hour. Important to note, you will see him at some upcoming community meetings, including the Alki Community Council on May 21, so as we’ve said before, you will want to be there to directly voice any concerns you have. But as for some answers right now – here’s our story about the conversation with Capt. Kessler this morning:

(Friday night photos, this one and above left, by David Hutchinson)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Just one hour after a 19-year-old was shot at Alki last Friday night, WSB commenter “At the Beach” asked, “Shouldn’t there have been at least more (of) a police presence on a sunny Friday evening down at Alki?”

That’s one of the questions Capt. Joe Kessler, now in his second year as commander of the police precinct responsible for West Seattle and South Park, wanted to answer – even before we asked it. (Yes, he reads WSB comments too.) Right off the top in our conversation at the precinct this morning, he addressed a specific question about police presence, as asked by Cathy at 8:55 Friday night: “Remember that huge police RV, command center type vehicle which always seemed to be parked right across from Alki Auto? Haven’t seen it for a long time.”

According to Capt. Kessler, that’s because the “RV” — officially, a “mobile precinct” — got to be so old, it started “falling apart” and is no longer in service; it was used less last year than in years past, in fact, he says. The Southwest Precinct used to share it with another precinct, and is now without an official share of a “mobile precinct,” though if desperately needed, one could be borrowed from elsewhere. The captain says, however, it’s not what he considers the best use of police resources.

Read More

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Humpback sighting
May 4, 2009 4:02 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | Seen at sea | West Seattle news

ORIGINAL 4:02 PM REPORT: Just got a call from Jeff Hogan, who usually gives us the heads-up about orca sightings: A humpback whale has been spotted in the past hour near the Fauntleroy ferry dock, breaching and spy-hopping. (Reportedly headed northbound from there.)

6:14 PM UPDATE: Adding two photos from a nearby resident – above, you see part of the whale; below, the splash after a breach (the resident said she saw TWO of those!):

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“Micro-farmers’ market” set for Delridge Day celebration
May 4, 2009 3:13 pm
|    Comments Off on “Micro-farmers’ market” set for Delridge Day celebration
 |   Delridge | Health | West Seattle news

West Seattle festival season is about to kick into high gear, and one of the upcoming events has just gone public with more details of what you can expect: Delridge Day — May 30th at Youngstown Arts Center — will be themed “FRESH,” focusing on everything from fresh food to fresh arts creations and fresh community involvement. One highlight: A “micro-farmers’ market” with organic produce. Read on for more details of what’s just been announced:Read More

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind advisory tonight/tomorrow
May 4, 2009 2:34 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

The National Weather Service has a wind advisory up in the metro area for midnight tonight till 8 am tomorrow; here’s the full forecast. Famous forecaster Cliff Mass also warns it’s part of an unusually strong spring storm – here’s his latest update.

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Design review for Seattle townhouses: Public meeting tonight
May 4, 2009 2:22 pm
|    Comments Off on Design review for Seattle townhouses: Public meeting tonight
 |   Development | West Seattle news

df_says_ugliest.jpgThe meeting’s not in West Seattle, but certainly townhouse design is an issue that affects our growing, developing area, and one on which we’ve reported before, with local community leaders at the forefront of the movement. Vlad Oustimovitch, past and present (interim) Design Review Board member, suggested we share a reminder of this meeting tonight at City Hall downtown, 5:30 pm – read the full meeting notice here. The recommendations will be presented by Brandon Nicholson of Nicholson Kovalchick Architects in The Junction, who’s been working with the city as a consultant on this proposal since last year.

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West Seattle’s transit future: Metro shows off first RapidRide bus
May 4, 2009 12:59 pm
|      29 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

(WSB photos by Jonathan Stumpf)
Metro showed off its first RapidRide bus this morning – the type that will be serving West Seattle in two years — and announced new federal funding. Here’s the shelter prototype that also was shown off:

And here’s County Executive Ron Sims at the podium, in one of his last appearances before leaving that job, photographed along with two of the candidates to succeed him (County Council Chair Dow Constantine at left, County Councilmember Larry Phillips at right, inbetween them is County Councilmember Julia Patterson):

(edited 2:50 pm) Jonathan Stumpf was there for WSB; he took the photos you see, and also reports:

County Executive Ron Sims, County Council Members Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine, and various other transit and federal officials were on hand at 6th and Lenora Avenues as King County Metro displayed prototypes of RapidRide’s new hybrid diesel-electric bus, shelter and fare station.

The 60-foot, three-door bus will provide seating for 48 passengers, LED-displays with upcoming stop information, wi-fi and pay-as-you-board fare collection, with some pre-pay options available at certain stations. County Executive Sims called it a bus people will want to get on, a good day for the suburbs and said that people can now throw away the bus schedule, referring to frequency the busses will run. Metro Transit anticipates them running every 10 minutes during peak commute hours and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours.

Bus shelters will include passenger-activated lights to signal the bus, interior shelter lighting, bike racks and real-time information signs displaying the number of minutes until the next bus arrives.

Funding for this project is estimated at about $180 million. It is a combination of the Transit Now sales tax revenue, partnerships with cities and support from state and federal grants. The Federal Transit Administration announced today that it is releasing $14 million in new federal grant money to help fund the acquisition of the new black, red and yellow bus fleet.

As we noted earlier, we also have the county’s detailed news release about today’s announcement/display has just come in; read on for that:Read More

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Meet your legislators: 34th District legislators set town meeting
May 4, 2009 11:46 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | White Center

(WSB photo from December 2008 – from left, Rep. Sharon Nelson, Sen. Joe McDermott, Rep. Eileen Cody)
The two state representatives and one state senator who represent West Seattle, White Center, Vashon and vicinity in the State Legislature are inviting you to a town-hall meeting a week from Saturday – here’s the announcement we just received:

All three lawmakers from the 34th District will host a town hall meeting to talk about the 2009 session and what future steps our state should take.

“This wasn’t an easy session,” said Sen. Joe McDermott, D-West Seattle. “The budget cuts will be hard on everyone, and I know people were already worried about losing their job or their home. But this won’t last forever. It will take all of us, working together, to bring our state back to prosperity.”

The meeting is set for 10 a.m. May 16 at the Jim Wiley Community Center, 9800 Eighth Avenue SW (White Center).

“There’s nothing more important than hearing from the citizens we represent,” said Rep. Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle. “It’s nice to be back home and talking to real people at the grocery store or the coffee shop.”

The lawmakers returned home after the end of the Legislature’s 105-day session. The Legislature passed a balanced budget, but left a handful of bills uncompleted that might require a short special session.

“While the budget got all the attention, we did pass some tough reforms,” said Rep. Sharon Nelson, D-Vashon Island. “I am happy to report that the payday lending law that I sponsored passed and is heading to the governor’s desk. As a former banker, I cared about this issue because far too many young people and working families fall into an endless trap of debt when they start taking out payday loans. This law will help.”

Here’s a map to the town-hall meeting’s location.

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From land-use land: 1 West Seattle decision in, 1 appealed
May 4, 2009 11:25 am
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

From the city’s latest Land Use Information Bulletin: Four months after the final Design Review Board meeting for 4502 42nd – the seven-story, 89-unit mixed-use building proposed for the corner of 42nd/Oregon (map)- its design review and “non-significance” status are final; read the decision here. The deadline for an appeal is May 18; this notice page explains how to appeal. Which is exactly what’s been done in the case of this project:

That’s the medical/office building proposed for 2743 California SW, just north of PCC. Its design review/DNS decisions have been appealed and – according to this notice – a hearing is set before the city Hearing Examiner (usually the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown) at 1:30 pm May 27th.

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New Delridge playground: Date set, sponsor revealed, $ needed
May 4, 2009 10:43 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Another big development this morning in the Delridge Playground saga. As reported here last week, Delridge Community Center has a chance to get a new, safer playground for a dramatically reduced cost. Community volunteers jumped in — and this morning Betsy Hoffmeister reports, a date is set and a sponsor has come forward for the project involving an organization called KaBoom that, with volunteer and sponsor help, builds new playgrounds in a day. Here’s what we just received from her, including more on the help that’s still needed from the community right now:

I am thrilled to be the one to report that Delridge Community Center will be getting a new playground on JULY 17. The project sponsor is Bank of America! Thank you, Bank of America. Volunteers from BOA will be there on July 17 to help our whole community build our new playground.

Important dates:

On May 6 or so, we will be getting many more details on the scope of the project.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, MAY 12, a playground designer will be at the Community Center to meet with children and their parents to choose design elements for the playground. The kids who will get the most priority in participating in the design will be kids from the community, especially kids from the Community Center’s own preschool and after school care, as well as any kids from the SWY&FS preschool. I am not sure how many people there will be physical room for. The parents will have time to give input, as well. There will be translators.

After one week, KaBoom will send us three playground designs to choose from. After the Parks Department swiftly confirms that all three designs are safe and appropriate for our space, there will be significant public process to do that selection and make sure everyone is on board with the design.

What we need to accomplish in the next few weeks is raising $4000 extra to cover some extra bits. If you have volunteered to help with the playground, now is the time to contact me to get serious!

Very excited!
Betsy Hoffmeister
North Delridge Neighborhood Council

You can reach Betsy at betsy (at) hoffmeisters (dot) com.

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