West Seattle, Washington
02 Tuesday
(December 22 WSB’er photo, California/Lander, looking west)
For an article published this morning, the Seattle Times launched “a review of about 2,000 records, including e-mails and detailed reports on how the city deployed equipment and crews” during the December snowstorms. The article starts off by calling attention to two SDOT managers who made what Times reporter Susan Kelleher calls “questionable decisions,” then provides a window into e-mail exchanges that seem to run counter to the stern tone of some of the official hearings (like this one) — Kelleher writes that Councilmember Sally Clark e-mailed SDOT boss Grace Crunican in January to say her West Seattle-residing colleague Tom Rasmussen was “out of line” in asking whether Crunican was in Seattle for the entirety of the storm (as reported here, she wasn’t), and Christmas e-mail from Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis to Crunican and one of her managers is quoted as saying “SDOT has been magnificent throughout these storms.” Ceis and Crunican also live in West Seattle, as of course does Mayor Nickels, and yet another part of the story says city workers spent more time clearing “sidewalks, landings, and bus stops” here than any other part of the city. Anyway, just go read the whole story.
The day after we reported on vandalism/arson damage at the Chief Sealth High School (permanent) campus, which is closed till summer of next year for major renovations, we have some followup information from Seattle Public Schools. We asked how security would be beefed up – SPS spokesperson Tom Redman‘s reply: “The general contractor for the Sealth renovation project has contracted with a professional security firm for guard services to patrol the Sealth building and grounds.” We also asked how much the damage would cost to repair – no dollar figure provided; Redman said, “Most of the damage is limited to broken glass and a small fire in one classroom, in addition to possible smoke damage. The general contractor’s insurance company’s risk adjusters are assessing the extent and cost of the damage.”
The city is studying Junction-area parking right now – but area businesspeople and residents are worried the study’s results will be out-of-date as area developments (like almost-done Mural, above) start to open. That’s one of the issues that emerged at midday today during the second — and likely final — walking tour offered as the city Transportation Department‘s Junction parking study begins in earnest. The dozen-strong tour group included the project manager, Dante Taylor (at center in the photo above), his SDOT colleague Mary Catherine Snyder, Junction businesspeople, residents, and leaders of two Junction churches.
As did the first tour on February 28 (WSB coverage here), this one focused on the blocks away from California Avenue SW – read on for photos of what was seen, and toplines on what was discussed:Read More
Monitoring the Seattle School Board meeting that’s under way now (live on cable channel 26) – the proposed start times have changed yet again before the formal presentation and vote later in the meeting (as part of a transportation plan) – the official presentation is here; it now calls for elementary schools to run 9:30 am-3:40 pm, middle schools, high schools, and most K-8s (including Pathfinder) to run 8:15 am-2:45 pm. We’ll add the vote here when it happens, as well as any other major developments from tonight’s meeting. 7:14 PM: Denny and Sealth students spoke during the public-comment period to express opposition to cuts in the Proyecto Saber program. Another West Seattle note – a presentation under way now about the future of special education mentions “more middle-school autism services in West Seattle.” Also, West Seattle board rep Steve Sundquist is asking why the district did not respond to a community request to offer the Spectrum gifted-education program in a West Seattle elementary school (Arbor Heights has been suggested – right now West Seattle’s only official elementary Spectrum program is at Lafayette in the north end); the staff response was that the closure process caused some bumps in the feedback process, and that explanations of the denial will be forthcoming “now that everything is final.”
8:16 PM: COO Don Kennedy is in the middle of the start-time/transportation presentation, and clarified that those times are not necessarily hard-and-fast school bell times but the basic transportation-related times so there may be some variations at individual schools, but not too far. (“Clarified” may be a misnomer, still working to be clear on this one, probably will require post-meeting followups assuming this plan is approved tonight.) Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson said that it’s not usual for something to be introduced and voted on during the same meeting, but said time was lost because of the closure process and if the vote on this is put off till early April, parents won’t have full information till after the enrollment period closes.
8:41 PM: One data point – Kennedy says this plan would take 49 school buses off the road. School Board president Michael DeBell is impressed.
9:25 PM: The proposal was approved.
9:50 PM: District lawyers just noted that a hearing is set April 1st for a lawsuit against the sale of the Fauntleroy schoolhouse; this came during a discussion of other sales and challenges, current and prospective, to them.
11:35 PM: The district has issued a news release with language further attempting to clarify the “start time” issue – read on for the full text:Read More
The city Parks Department is planning some renovations at West Seattle’s only outdoor pool, Colman Pool in Lincoln Park – but the plan’s fate is pending, as Parks managers wait to see if the $900,000 allotted for the work will stay in the budget. Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter tells WSB the planned renovations include “adding a family changing area that would be accessible for people with disabilities, and reinforcing the structure of the deck, and other miscellaneous work.” Right now, design work is scheduled to happen this year, with construction next year – if the potential funding stays out of range of the sizable budget ax that’s expected to fall next month, once city number-crunchers figure out just how much real-estate-excise-tax revenue they’ve lost. Meantime, this year’s Colman Pool season is scheduled to open May 23; swim-lesson registration starts April 2; learn about the pool’s history in our West Seattle 101 on WSB section.
Don’t let the smile on Keri Robinson‘s face fool you – She’s coping, as are so many these days, with unemployment. We got a note from her this afternoon that said, in part: “I am a West Seattlelite who was given the pink-slip from Microsoft about 2 months ago and curious about a couple things. First, do you know where all the other pink-slipped Seattlelites hang out? It’s been about 2 months post layoff – and I have yet to really run into anyone, everyone seems to be hibernating or something. After about my first month, I came out of my shell and decided to start blogging about my experience as an unemployed person, but I am hoping to find some of the others out there – we are in the same boat and despite the long lonely journey through unemployment land ahead of us – I was hoping I could try to recruit some of our local pink-slips to be guest bloggers on my site.” So we asked Keri to send us a photo and told her we’d put out the call to you – if you happen to be in the jobseeking mode – you’ll find her site, Lords and Ladies of Leisure, by going here; her e-mail address is on the “about” page. (We’ll be adding her site feed shortly to the WSB Blogs page, too.)
Just in from ArtsWest – the waiting list for the first session of its Summer Musical Theater Camp got to be so long, they opened a second session, and it has some room – read on for the announcement:Read More
ALKI NEWS: Twofold this time – the latest edition of the Alki News Beacon is available online (with a couple WSB contributions) – see it here; the every-two-months publication usually comes out just before the Alki Community Council meets, and in fact, that meeting is tomorrow night, 7 pm, Alki Community Center. Editor Cami MacNamara also sends word of a revamp at alkinews.com – see it here, including highlights of tomorrow night’s agenda.
SLEEPERS IN SEATTLE, NOT JUST FOR SEATTLE: West Seattle certainly has more than a few businesses that serve customers far beyond the peninsula or even the city limits. On the Junction parking-review walking tour that just wrapped up (story to come), we chatted with Meryl Alcabes (photo left) of Sleepers in Seattle, who mentioned that their nationwide-delivery service is continuing to grow – they’ve even got customers in New York and just expanded their online presence to serve them. (Other West Seattle businesses that sell online too include WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits.)
EASY STREET MIDNIGHT EVENT: Also while on the Junction walking tour, we noticed the Easy Street Records marquee promoting a midnight sale event next Monday night when four special editions of Pearl Jam‘s 1991 debut “Ten” go on sale. (Easy Street also revamped its website not too long ago – lots of great stuff there if you haven’t visited lately, including an easy place to find upcoming in-store performances.)
CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle-based Potter Construction is sharing the news that it’s been honored with a 2009 Guildmaster Award for customer service – find out more about it here. (Got big news about YOUR business – or school, or neighborhood, or group, or … ? Let us know!)
One more important event to mention tonight: The Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meets at 7, Youngstown Arts Center, everybody welcome. Agenda includes a look at the latest list of proposed Delridge neighborhoods street improvement projects, which will be ranked by District Council members and sent to city departments for evaluation, plus an update from a Seattle City Light rep (got a question about SCL issues, including street lights? this is a good chance). Here’s our report from last month’s DNDC meeting.
That’s Mayor Nickels, lending a hand this morning to a project that’s had tons of volunteer help — Habitat for Humanity‘s High Point project (here’s more information on what’s being built there). You can help too – here’s how.
2 more notes that trace back to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, although one is a new development just within the past few hours:
CAR-STRIPPING SUSPECT NABBED: Lt. Steve Paulsen told the group last night that officers hoped to make an arrest shortly in a case featured in the Washington’s Most Wanted reports on channel 13 – a restored 1967 Mustang was ravaged by someone who broke into the the South Park trailer where it was stored. (Read the original story here.) Southwest Precinct officers tracked down a suspect in Renton and Lt. Paulsen just confirmed to WSB that they arrested him this morning.
WANT TO KNOW IF A SEX OFFENDER LIVES NEAR YOU? We have mentioned this before, and the link has been in the “resources” section at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page for months, but it came up at last night’s Crime Prevention Council meeting so we want to share it again: To find out whether a registered sex offender – someone convicted of a serious sex crime – lives near you, there’s a great statewide search website you can use: Here’s the link. (There are three “levels” of sex offender – 2 and 3 are the most serious, and those are the ones you can search for by using that site.)
Tonight’s the regular semimonthly meeting of the Seattle School Board (6 pm, district HQ in Sodo), with an agenda that has a few extra reasons for West Seattleites to keep watch: Contracts for several local renovation/repair projects are on the agenda – for Alki Elementary, a $596,000 contract with Western Ventures Construction to do the following work this summer:
Install new roofing membrane which will improve student indoor air quality by preventing water intrusion into interior spaces and reduce maintenance backlog.
• Replace worn flooring surfaces with new carpet and resilient composition tile which will provide for a healthier cleaner environment for the students and staff.
• Replace and/or refurbish aging HVAC equipment which will reduce the maintenance backlog, improve indoor air quality and reduce energy costs.
• Replace the large single glazed window at the lunchroom with a new double glazed window system which will improve energy savings and provide for a warmer, more comfortable environment for the students and staff.
The same construction company is also recommended for a $749,000 project this summer at Gatewood and Sanislo Elementary Schools:
Sanislo Elementary:
• New roofing system with added insulation.
• Install new roof flashing.
• Clean brick.
• Replace worn carpeting in the auditorium with new resilient floor tile.
• Install five (5) new roof top air handling units.
• Replace worn and cracked playground walkway with a new, more ADA compliant concrete walkway.
Gatewood Elementary:
• Replace worn and cracked linoleum flooring with new resilient floor tile at selected areas.
• Repair the wood flooring in the library.
• Replace stage curtain and wall covering at existing operable wall in lunchroom.
• Refurbish existing HVAC fluid cooler, replace heat pump at daycare and add exhaust/relief/supply fans to improve indoor air quality.
Also on the agenda:
–Standardized school start times, which we first mentioned here, will be considered as part of “transportation standards.” Read the document here; it mentions various provisions for exceptions, but in general, elementary schools would run 9:15 am-3:25 pm, middle schools and “designated elementary and K-8” 8 am-2:30 pm. (The always-excellent SPS Community Blog has an extensive breakdown.)
–The 2009-2010 calendar, which would start classes on Sept. 9 and end them on June 22 (unless there are snow days to make up); see the proposed calendar here.
If you can’t make it to the meeting, you should be able to watch it live on cable TV (channel 26).
Back from three-plus hours at the Southwest Precinct, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, then moving on to review the latest reports. From the WSCPC meeting – the February crime stats, announced by Lt. Steve Paulsen: 
2 armed robberies, down from 5 in January; strong-armed robberies were up to 7 for February, described by Lt. Paulsen as largely “afterschool stuff” – youths getting iPods and money stolen, and he says they’re “working with the schools on that issue” – residential burglaries down to 37 in February (usually averaging about 50/month); 26 car thefts in February, down from 33; car prowls down dramatically in February, 83, from January’s 127. More from the Crime Prevention Council meeting in a separate story; first, on to some of the latest reports from the precinct, including more than a few car crimes, starting with a theft that ended in arson and a store clerk scaring away a would-be robber – plus a burglary from today, reported by a local Block Watch — read on:Read More
(thanks to Mona for the photo)
We’re checking on something happening at 16th/Roxbury (map) – there was a brief medic call to 15th/Roxbury, it closed, but Mona just sent word of a big fire/police presence in the area, and we got a call from Kevin too. More as soon as we confirm info. Avoid the area in the meantime. 8:11 PM UPDATE: This is on the King County side of White Center – King County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating; they say a man was hit by a car in the intersection – the driver told investigators he never saw the man. The man’s been taken to Harborview Medical Center. The Roxbury/16th/15th area is still closed at last report so avoid the area.
(looking north along 42nd from Jefferson Square during the 1st walking tour, February 28)
Reminder: If you can spare the time at midday tomorrow, it’s your next chance to get directly involved with the city’s review of parking in The Junction – a review that will eventually lead to a decision on whether the city will install pay stations, Residential Parking Zones, new time-limit signage, and/or other parking-management “tools.” At 11 am tomorrow, you can join the group rendezvousing outside Cupcake Royale at California/Alaska – as reported in our coverage of the first tour Feb. 28, the city reps want to hear about your observations and concerns. (Though the posted time is 11 am-1 pm, most of the first tour was done in about an hour.) If you can’t make the tour, you can have your say in other ways – contact info is on the parking review’s website. (Archived WSB coverage of the ongoing Junction parking review can be found here, newest to oldest.)
Just got word that vandal(s) hit the Chief Sealth High School – permanent campus – project overnight. According to a report provided by the Southwest Precinct, the construction crew arrived first thing this morning “to discover someone(s) broke into the secured school … set fire to a cabinet / cork boards, and broke multiple skylights and other interior windows.” The report elaborates:
They set a wood cabinet on fire, which caught nearby corkboards on fire. Numerous interior windows as well as skylights were extensively damaged. Several beer cans were left behind, as well as blood smears from where (the) suspect may have been cut. The fire alarm had been disabled due to reconstruction.
The report also says construction workers had reported graffiti vandalism and a “trash-can fire” the day before, which might have been the work of the same vandal(s). Detectives are doing followup work now, and the blood smears provided potential DNA evidence. We will check with Seattle Public Schools regarding damage estimate from this vandalism and what’s going to be done to step up security. 7:04 PM UPDATE: A district spokesperson says that information won’t be available till tomorrow.
On one side of Alki Ave, you’ll have St. Patrick’s Day night at Celtic Swell — on the other, a tradition from the other side of the globe. Thanks to Paige for e-mailing to share this:
CHAHAR SHANBEH SOORI tonight, Tuesday March 17 at Alki Beach Park, 7 pm-11 pm
Chahar Shanbeh Soori is the ancient Iranian festival dating at least back to 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. The festival of fire is a prelude to the ancient Norooz festival, which marks the arrival of spring and revival of nature. Chahar Shanbeh Soori is celebrated the night before the last Wednesday of the year. On this occasion people make small fires and jump over them of good luck in the coming New Year.
Please bring as much firewood as you can and light a fire ONLY in designated fire pits – otherwise the Fire Department will be called in and our fires will be put out. Be safe and have fun. *Note: This is a community organized event and not an IACA-sponsored event.
For other Iranian events celebrating the Persian New Year/Spring Equinox, go to:
iaca-seattle.org/calendar
1. The Parks Department sent out a roundup today of sports-signup highlights at their facilities around West Seattle; check it out here.
2. Just got a City Hall advisory that Hizzoner will be volunteering at the High Point Habitat for Humanity construction site tomorrow. Celebrityish help is nothing new on the project; we covered Seahawks wives helping out back in February.
When we first told you last Friday about the lawsuit that developers BlueStar filed against Seattle Capital and its parent company in connection with the stalled Fauntleroy Place development, we also mentioned there was word of another lawsuit. We’ve now learned more about that lawsuit: It’s filed against Seattle Capital and Fauntleroy Place LLC, but for this one, the plaintiff is BAJ Capital, local investor Christopher NeVan‘s firm, which state corporation-information files listed as one of the “governing” parties in FP LLC along with Seattle Financial. It tells the detailed tale of what allegedly happened with the site and its ownership last year – we’ll be reading it a while to distill it, and we’ll link it here as soon as we can. The first 10 pages (which are followed by exhibits including the original 2006 LLC agreement forming Fauntleroy Place) accuse the defendants of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. This suit was actually filed a few days before BlueStar’s suit (which isn’t yet available in the public online court system). ADDED 1:17 PM: Here’s the lawsuit if you’d like to read it for yourself. (The one filed Friday isn’t available online yet.) 2:28 PM: We’ve summarized the complaint, if you’d rather read the toplines than wade through the whole thing:Read More
Julie brought this up in the WSB Forums tonight — the King Conservation District has a districtwide election this Thursday for a Board of Supervisors spot, and all registered voters in Seattle (plus other parts of the district) are eligible to vote. 
A quick read about the King CD might leave you thinking it’s mostly about rural King County — not so. For example, the King CD is involved with Longfellow Creek restoration here in West Seattle. Chances are, you’ve contributed part of its $6 million annual revenue. And if you watch this explanatory video, you’ll hear about a project at Seahurst, just a bit south of us. There’s only one polling place in Seattle – the downtown library, 10 am-8 pm Thursday (Julie’s forum post lists them all) – but if you read about this district’s work and want to have a say on which of these two three (including a write-in) candidates joins the board, now you know – you can. (By the way, King CD says there’s a historic aspect to the way they’re conducting this election!)
(Photo above, rescue boat and overturned kayak, from Tracy White – photo below from Doug and Anne, as the rescue boat was hoisted back aboard the Issaquah)
ORIGINAL 6:39 PM REPORT: On our way now to a call off Brace Point – a kayak overturned in the water, and according to what we’re hearing on the scanner, a ferry is trying to rescue the person who’s with the overturned kayak. 6:44 PM UPDATE: KING had an aerial picture – a lifeboat from a ferry has just picked up the kayaker and reportedly will bring him to the command post in the 9600 block of 50th SW (map). Some of the fire/medic units are being canceled now. 7:04 PM UPDATE: Still awaiting word from our folks at the scene on how the kayaker’s doing – looks like the ferry Issaquah, which helped with the rescue, is now heading back westbound, per VesselWatch. Just added the top photo from Tracy White – thanks! Tracy says, “The (rescue) boat appeared to pick up the kayaker, take them to shore, then come back for the boat …” Also just heard from co-publisher Patrick, who is at the command post – the kayaker was reported to be conscious and alert when brought to shore, and was taken to the hospital as of just a few minutes ago. 7:16 PM: Added the second photo above – thanks to Doug and Anne, who caught the rescue boat being hoisted back aboard the Issaquah. Here’s our photo of the 50th SW street end where police and fire crews staged:
ADDED 8:23 PM: No update on the rescued kayaker’s condition – privacy laws make it impossible to just call the hospital and say “how’s that kayaker?” without a name – but we have a few more photos, from WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, starting with the kayak after it was brought back to the Brace Point beach:
ADDED 9:35 PM: KING has put up its helicopter video (silent) of the entire rescue – watch it here.
ADDED 11:14 PM: Can’t find it online yet, but KOMO had a short interview with the kayaker, identified as Scott Redfern. Q13 has the same name in this short story.
Earlier today, we saw the label crews trailing the pickup crews again, taping notices to trash/recycling containers along Alki Avenue – a reminder there are two weeks to go till new city contracts kick in, upping rates, expanding what’s recyclable, changing yard/food waste pickup to weekly, and for many households, changing pickup days. (We’ve been Monday since we bought our house in ’93; as of 3/31 it’ll be Tuesday.) If you don’t see a note attached to your can(s), watch your mailbox – the collection day is mentioned above your address on a brochure about the changes. Here’s the latest city news release aimed at keeping the impending changes top-of-mind; again, they kick in the week of 3/30. (Note the recycling/disposal-station rates are rising too.)
Back in January, West 5 in The Junction had its first-ever movie screening — “Rock ‘n’ Roll Gearhead – 4 Days with Billy Gibbons.” Its locally based filmmaker, Jamie Chamberlin, sent that photo and this accompanying announcement:
In response to the warm hospitality extended … by West 5 in screening the NW premiere of “Rock and Roll Gearhead,” Gibbons has flown up a most enviable wall piece. Taking time out of his hectic recording sessions with producer Rick Rubin down in Los Angeles, Gibbons custom pin-striped a mustard yellow guitar to be hung on display at The West 5. The legendary guitarist is celebrating a 40-year anniversary with his band ZZ Top and is slated to have a new album out this year as well as a worldwide tour. The guitar should be on display by week’s end.
Chamberlin says he’ll be visiting West 5 to personally present the guitar for display. There’s more about his movie, including its trailer, at this MySpace site.
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