West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
Thanks to Gary J for sharing photos of eagles around Alki Point; it’s “eagle season,” as he put it:
Maybe the one at right is the juvenile eagle seen on Beach Drive recently (as reported here)? Anyway, thanks again to Gary J – send us your photos, news tips, stories to share, any time – editor@westseattleblog.com – or if it’s something too urgent for e-mail (or you’re away from a keyboard), call 206-293-6302 day or night, 24/7. (More wildlife later – a new coyote concern to share.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just under 24 hours from now — at 10:30 Saturday morning — three potential designs for possible changes at California Place Park in North Admiral will be made public.
The group that obtained a $15,000 city grant to pay for those designs to be created, Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral (FANNA), says the format of tomorrow morning’s workshop will be similar to the last one — a presentation by landscape architect Karen Kiest, followed by small-group discussions at tables around the room.
The design workshops under way now follow a series of public meetings in various formats and under various auspices, dating all the way back to the first word of potential changes, presented at the Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting last June.
FANNA created a website several months ago to make its case. Opponents of park changes do not have an organized online presence, but have mounted a major in-person campaign in the neighborhood, including a seven-page handout.
In comments after our report on the first design workshop in February, Lance wrote:
I was given the packet for the “no change to park” and they make some very valid arguments. Also some of the facts in it seem legit. I’d like to see some actual evidence that this information is false. Seems like there’s a bunch of people so polarized to either side as to not see whats real or not. I’ve already shown my opinion from a cost standpoint but if these “facts” are true, how can this park project even be moving forward? If I were a city parks representative I’d want to investigate both sides and see what really went on. To make a genuine opinion I’d like to know what’s real and what’s made up. Real info folks not just something you heard or whatnot.
We hadn’t seen the “packet” and said so. Lance in turn offered to scan and e-mail it, which he did. It has not appeared anywhere online that we know of. Here’s a screengrab of the cover:
You can see the 7-page document here, as provided to us by Lance.
Not long after he provided it to us, park-change opponent Jan Bailey provided us with printed copies of supplementary documents, even before we asked for them – she gave them to us at the last ANA meeting.
So, looking at all those, here’s a breakdown, with information from our past coverage, online research, and/or responses from FANNA, received from Matthew Slye. We will say in advance, if there is a point you think we missed, that interests you, please leave a comment and we will follow up.
First, Seattle Public Schools announced a March 12 groundbreaking ceremony for the next phase of the Sealth/Denny construction project; then they announced last week it would be postponed till they had the permits all in hand; now, Tom Redman from the district tells WSB they’ve just decided to save the money and not have a groundbreaking event after all, in favor of spending the $ on “two big community celebrations” when Chief Sealth reopens in 2010 and when the new Denny Middle School on the Sealth campus opens in 2011.
From the official National Weather Service forecast issued for the metro area early this morning:
SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH…EXCEPT NORTHWEST WIND NORTH PART. SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH. SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S.
As for today – mostly sunny! By the way, Scott C noted that the city put what appeared to be a “thick” layer of deicer on the West Seattle Bridge overnight.
Don’t just have a garden – much less a yard – how about a “backyard wildlife habitat”? A unique four-part workshop to show you how is just days away, so here are the details one more time:
Backyard Habitat Workshop at Camp Long
Join Woodland Park Zoo, National Wildlife Federation, Seattle Audubon, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Native Plant Society at Camp Long for this informative workshop on creating a backyard wildlife habitat. Meet experts and get hands-on experience that will show how to attract birds and other wildlife to your backyard, select and care for native plants, recognize and remove invasive plants species, conserve water, manage your backyard without the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides, place feeders and bird houses, get your backyard, schoolyard or community garden certified as a Backyard Habitat.
This is a four-part workshop:
– Tuesday, March 10, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
– Tuesday, March 17, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
– Tuesday, March 24, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
– Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Cost: $75 (or $140 for couples); scholarships available for members of West Seattle Garden Club and local neighborhood associations
To register, please see the zoo’s website:
http://www.zoo.org/educate/adult/workshops.html
(WSB photo from February 13 sidewalk-project site tour)
Three weeks after touring the Alki Point sidewalk-completion/traffic-calming project zone with Alki Community Council leaders and other neighbors (WSB coverage here), SDOT project manager Sandra “Sam” Woods met with the contractor today to discuss the schedule, and here’s the verdict: The contractor Construct Co. has decided that the Alki project will be the first one it tackles from the package of projects in the same bid (which also include the Snake Hill work in Delridge). No exact date yet, but Woods says it will be “this month,” and they will likely be back out in the neighborhood shortly with another round of notices. She also notes that no-parking signs will go up at least three days before the equipment starts arriving, and she says it’s likely – though not certain yet – the contractor will start work on the Beach Drive end of the project. (To see the full set of plans, go here.)
Scores are all in now: Chief Sealth boys’ basketball team lost to Seattle Prep tonight in Bellevue, 60-47; in their consolation-round games against North Beach this afternoon in Spokane, the Seattle Lutheran boys’ team lost 66-51, the girls won 55-47, and play Orcas Island at 12:30 pm tomorrow. ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: The Sealth boys have one more chance to get to the state tournament — they play O’Dea at 11:30 am Saturday morning, again at Bellevue Community College.
(added 5:12 pm, newly released rendering of proposed western Conner project building at California/Alaska)
That’s Conner Homes boss Charlie Conner speaking briefly to the Seattle Design Commission this afternoon at City Hall, before commissioners’ third review of the “subterranean alley vacation” that’s needed for his project to have one underground parking garage shared by its two proposed 8-story buildings at California/Alaska/42nd. Any kind of “alley vacation” — allowing a land owner to take public property — generally requires the owner/developer to offer some kind of “public benefit” in return; as Conner recapped in his remarks, that’s the part that commissioners hadn’t been so sure about, though they signed off on the design concept during an earlier meeting. The extensive discussions of the previous reviews — which we covered here and here — were not replicated today; project architect Peter Greaves of Weber Thompson recapped a few elements in which he had responded to commissioners’ previously voiced concerns, and the commission gave its approval with few comments/questions. This isn’t the final approval for the alley vacation; SDOT’s alley-vacation specialist Beverly Barnett told WSB after the meeting that her work on it is not yet done, and once her department has a recommendation, it goes to the City Council’s Transportation Committee. The Conner project has an even bigger date before then – next Thursday, 6:30 pm at High Point Library, what could be the final Design Review Board look at the entire project. We have images from today’s presentation, courtesy of Weber Thompson, and will add them later this afternoon.
ADDED 5:06 PM: For starters, here’s the full Conner presentation (5 MB PDF). Also just added the first image from that presentation at the top of this report – a new rendering showing what the western building of the project might look like.
ADDED 6:36 PM: Jump ahead for more images made public today, and a few more details from this afternoon’s Design Commission meeting:Read More
21-year-old Dion (aka Deon) Fillmore, charged with murdering his 70-year-old grandmother Lavon Barrett in her Fauntleroy/Dawson apartment February 13th, appeared in court this morning to answer the second-degree murder charge against him. Dan Donohoe of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says Fillmore pleaded not guilty and is due back in court March 19 for a “case-setting hearing.” Fillmore remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. As we reported when the charges were filed, investigators say Barrett died after having been beaten, strangled, stabbed, and “stomped on.”
This Saturday, 10:30-noon, is the second of two “design workshops” for potential changes at California Place Park in North Admiral. After the contentious first workshop (WSB coverage here), the landscape architect whose services are funded by a $15,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant has come up with proposals to display, according to a new post on the project website that’s maintained by Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral, the group that procured the grant:
Karen Kiest has done a wonderful job representing the feedback from the community and has created several beautiful options that contain ideas for the neighborhood to review and provide input. We are very excited about what she has to share. There are no plastic playstructures, no climbing walls on the church, no holes or giant sand pits and the trees are all intact! The design options are natural, open, welcoming and timeless – a perfect compliment to the Admiral neighborhood.
If you are closely interested in this project, check back here at WSB tonight Friday, when we will be publishing a longer story including the claims that have been made by park-change opponents and responses from FANNA. In the meantime, we wanted to get out this reminder, since the project has been so closely watched, and the workshop is day after tomorrow (Alki Community Center, 10:30 am-noon Saturday; past coverage is archived here). ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: We asked FANNA’s Ann Limbaugh about the format planned for the workshop; she says it will be similar to the last one – landscape architect Kiest will make a presentation, people will discuss in small groups at tables.
Just in from the King County Council, following up on the Feb. 26 troubles:
For the second time this winter, public transit throughout King County was brought to a standstill by snow. On February 26, Metro Transit passengers were left out in the cold, stranded by late bus service. The Metropolitan King County Council’s Physical Environment Committee, the panel responsible for Council oversight of Metro Transit, will be taking public testimony regarding the disruption in transit services:
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
9:30 a.m.
King County Council chambers
10th floor, King County CourthouseCommittee members will receive a briefing from committee staff and will also hear from Metro Transit staff on the agency’s reaction to the morning snow.
We know that’s not the most convenient time – you can e-mail the council your thoughts too, if you haven’t already. Their contact info is all here.
Whatever term you want to use, this invitation’s for you: TEAM Delridge, latest push for neighborhood efforts in the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, invites you to a get-together at 6:30 pm March 23rd. Food for thought, from the official invitation:
Does any or all of the following apply to you:
___ I live in the Delridge neighborhood.
___ I learn in the Delridge neighborhood.
___ I work in the Delridge neighborhood.
___ I play in the Delridge neighborhood.
___ I care about the Delridge neighborhood.Do you have ideas or thoughts on the accessibility of healthy food for your family or others’ families living, working, learning and playing in Delridge?
We’ve heard a thousand times before that Delridge needs a grocery store. Is that true? Would a farmers’ market be best? You tell us!
Join other community members just like yourself who are striving to eat healthier, practicing collective action and moving more!
Topics for discussion and prioritization:
What kinds of businesses, organizations, and programs will make a more vibrant Delridge?
What are our largest community concerns, and how can they be addressed?For more information on the exciting initiative or to RSVP for the community meeting, please contact Phillippia Goldsmith at (206) 923-0917 x 116 or via e-mail at phillippiag@dnda.org
If you haven’t seen this on the WSB Crime Watch page, which includes the direct feed from the Seattle Police SPDBlotter site, SPD is reporting an early-morning “home invasion” type break-in in the 3000 block of Harbor Ave (map) early today – for starters, here’s the SPDBlotter report:
On 3-5-09 at 1:13 a.m., three people entered a residence in the 3000 block of Harbor Av SW., stating they had a gun. They then took multiple items including a laptop, flat screen tv, a purse and a set of vehicle keys. The suspects fled in a black Nissan with a temporary plate in the rear window. Officers quickly spotted the vehicle and followed it southbound on I-5 until eventually stopping it at exit 154. All three suspects were taken into custody and the property was recovered from the vehicle. The suspects were transported to the Southwest Precinct and later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery.
We checked with police for more details – turns out this was NOT random: One of the three people arrested is the victim’s son, who’s in juvenile custody, according to Officer Renee Witt in the media unit, so his status isn’t available, but the other two were adults, a man and a woman, and both are still in jail, according to current listings on the King County Jail Register.
From Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor): Busy agenda including not only updates on West Seattle projects, but also guest appearances by City Council President Richard Conlin, Alaskan Way Viaduct team reps, and a 
Seattle City Light spokesperson. But first: A followup on a story we brought you at this time tonight, the kickoff of the Friends of Junction Plaza Park‘s efforts to collect pledges of volunteer time and money to get the park finished this year. Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association told the SWDC that just since the Tuesday night meeting, 22 signed pledges have come in, representing 400 hours of volunteer time, and organizations are volunteering too – nearby West Seattle Christian Church has pledged 200 hours of volunteer time. Patti Mullen of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce said she had spoken with Lafarge Cement, who, she told Melrose, “wants to know if they can offer any labor and product that can support you.” Volunteer pledges circulated through the room before the meeting ended; here’s a form you can print, sign, and send in – also, as mentioned before, look for park volunteers at this Sunday’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Listening to the park update, Councilmember Conlin said, “It’s great to see Junction Plaza Park moving forward,” and that segued right into his update – which, along with Viaduct and City Light points, is just ahead:Read More
Tough night for the Seattle Lutheran High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at the state 2B tournament in Spokane – the boys lost 68-42 to Napavine, the girls lost 62-26 to Colfax. They both have games against North Beach tomorrow in the consolation round: the boys at 12:30 pm (full tournament bracket here), the girls at 2 pm (full tournament bracket here). THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The girls won today’s game, 55-47, and play Orcas Island tomorrow at 12:30; the boys lost today, 66-51.
Sarah Bonzer e-mailed today to ask if we’d share a request that she in turn is sharing on behalf of her friend and co-worker, Katie Hogan; both of them live in West Seattle – that’s a candid photo of Katie at left, sent after we asked Sarah for one to go with this story. Before reading Katie’s request, you should hear what Sarah has to say about her friend Katie:
Katie was diagnosed with advanced cancer three years ago and I’ll never forget the day she made the announcement in our conference room at work. You don’t wish something like this on anyone, let alone a woman in her thirties with a young daughter and husband who has survived his own bout with cancer. Katie is one of the gentlest, most caring, considerate and hard working individuals you’ll ever meet. My life is better for having known her during this time, if that is at all possible. Sadly, Katie likely won’t live a full life like the rest of us. Yet in her final years, she stays committed to organizations such as the one she describes below which have supported her during this journey.
The organization is called the Young Survival Coalition; its Seattle branch has less than $40 left in its “Sunshine Fund.” Sarah says even $10 would be a big help – but you don’t have to take her word for it; read Katie’s note, by clicking ahead:Read More
Just in from the Department of Ecology, word that the state’s investigating a diesel spill of unknown size in Duwamish waters near Harbor Island – read on for the full news release:Read More
That video by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli captures what happened on the day last November that 4532 42nd SW (map) — a huge house with a lot of history, including time spent as one of West Seattle’s original hospitals — met its demise. The newest date written onto the Southwest Design Review Board‘s calendar is for the next review of the project that will replace it, seen here in a rendering from its last SWDRB review last June:
4532 42nd SW is now the second project on the SWDRB agenda for April 9, 8 pm – location TBD – first one that night, at 6:30 pm, is 2922 SW Avalon (featured here yesterday). But there’s a West Seattle Design Review meeting *before* then, too – a week from tomorrow, at 6:30 pm March 12 at High Point Library, the Conner Homes Junction project gets its next look (and part of that project, its “alley vacation” request, has a third hearing before the Seattle Design Commission at City Hall downtown tomorrow). Side note: We cover the Design Review scheduling, reviews, and votes closely because this is a rare step in the development process, for some projects, when the public gets a chance to speak out at a public hearing. For details on how that works, you can check out the Community Guide to Design Review.
If you’re heading southbound on California SW through the 3300 block – south of Prost, The Bohemian, Spiro’s, and the almost-complete Madison Heights townhouse project – it’s slow going because of those four huge cherry-picker trucks working on trimming tree branches away from power lines. City Light has had major tree work going in West Seattle for almost a year now; SCL’s Scott Thomsen just confirmed to WSB that this is city work — “JTS Inc. is working there for us with a city arborist. They’ve been out in West Seattle for the past three weeks. They’ll be working in that area for about another month.”
You may recall Admiral Theater entertainment director Dinah Brein McClellan putting out the call here on WSB for a couple to get married onstage during the upcoming singalong showing of “Mamma Mia.” At least one citywide media source read about it here and in turn, that brought forward Melodie Anderson and John Babcock, whose relationship has stretched across several years and two states (they originally met in San Diego; John followed Melodie when she moved up here) – as well as a cancer fight (Melodie is a survivor, and John’s been by her side all the way). We photographed them last night when they came to The Admiral to meet with Dinah, and today Dinah’s sent word that they are The Ones. The big event is a week from this Saturday – 7:30 pm March 14th, right before the movie. Now Dinah’s thinking it might be a great idea to “give John and Melodie a great sendoff.” The new Luna Park Italian restaurant Cafe Revo already has donated a celebration dinner for 4, and Dinah says Sugar Rush Baking Company/Coffee to a Tea‘s chipping in with a wedding cake and mini-cupcakes . Anybody else want to get in on this with something else for the lucky couple (in addition to attending the showing, not just to cheer on John and Melodie, but also to sing along with your ABBA faves)? Could be the West Seattle media event of the month, and you’ll be in the spotlight too (plus, who doesn’t love a love story?). Give Dinah a shout – dinah@admiralentertainment.com. She says John and Melodie weren’t the only ones to contact her, but she sees “something magical” about their story – love will conquer all, which is the theme of the “Mamma Mia” movie too.
We’re at the end of a two-part media event this morning put on by Seattle Public Utilities and the mayor’s office to start intensifying the reminders that the way you handle your trash/recycling is changing in a big way at month’s end. Rates are rising, pickup dates are changing, weekly food/yard-waste collection is happening, and you’ll be able to recycle more items (and you won’t have to separate the glass any more). First part of the media event is in the photo above – on a Beacon Hill streetcorner, the mayor and a neighborhood family used plastic props to demonstrate the new push for more food recycling. Second part, we’ll be adding video in a bit – we and the other media reps were taken inside the gigantic recycling-sorting facility at 3rd/Lander in Sodo …. (photo added 4:48 pm)
… for a look at what happens AFTER your recycling is picked up, BEFORE it’s sent off to whoever’s buying the “raw” materials. Loud, smelly, fascinating. Clips to come.
Here’s more info on the upcoming changes. Specific info on your new collection day should arrive in your postal mail. ADDED 4:14 PM: 1st video clip and some extra info:Read More
Congratulations to the Chief Sealth High School boys’ basketball team for beating Cleveland 76-66 last night (the game for which your votes won the channel 7 “Game of the Week” web poll) – that means they play Seattle Prep tomorrow night — 6:30 pm, Bellevue Community College — with the winner going to the state playoffs. When Sealth faced Prep on January 13, it was a close game, with Prep winning 45-41.
(added Wednesday afternoon, Junction Plaza Park rendering)
(Susan Melrose of the Junction Association and Isaac Cohen of Seattle Parks Foundation)
From Tuesday night’s first meeting of Friends of Junction Plaza Park, designed to get the long-semi-dormant park project across the finish line: Three women are giving the group a jump start: There’s Susan Melrose, who’s been helping Junction merchants bring new energy to the business district in her role as director of the West Seattle Junction Association; Erica Karlovits, who helms the Junction Neighborhood Organization and co-chairs the Southwest District Council; and Katie Hjorten, who we last heard from publicly when, as chair of Friends of Ercolini Park, she helped celebrate that park’s dedication west of The Junction last July. After the meeting, we asked her, why get involved with another park? Read More
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