Sunday dinner – for Olivia’s sake
That’s 10-year-old Olivia Shain, cuddling her cat Bebe during one of the many hospital stays Olivia’s had to endure in her short life. She has been living with Crohn’s disease – which seldom strikes children – since she was a toddler. Olivia’s West Seattle church and school community are coming together to raise money for her massive medical bills, and inviting you to join them for a spaghetti dinner and silent auction this Sunday. Olivia’s mom, local pet-sitting entrepreneur Demery Shain, agreed to talk with WSB about her daughter, their life, and how you can help:Read More
Busy day on 35th SW: Paving, cameras, cables
(Thanks to Val for the newly added second photo.) As the city Transportation Department promised yesterday, their crews are out on 35th just north of Alaska today, starting repair work on what became known in WSB-land as “Bruno” the megapothole. (Backstory here.) Reminder that they expect to work for a week, 8 am-2 pm, reducing 35th to one lane at that spot. Meantime, thanks to several WSB readers for pointing out that SDOT crews were busy elsewhere along the 35th corridor even earlier in the morning, putting down detection cables and installing cameras like this one:
That camera is near 35th/Thistle, identified as one of the two West Seattle intersections that will be first to get red-light cameras, so we have a message out to SDOT asking if that’s what this is all about. One more camera note: Remember the speeder-cam bill (much-discussed here last weekend)? You can track its status here; right now, it’s moved on to the state House Transportation Committee – whose membership does not include either of West Seattle’s state House reps.
Speaking of history: Charlestown Court landmark hearing today
This afternoon, the city Landmarks Board considers 3811 California, aka Charlestown Court (historic King County Assessor photo above), the brick Tudor four-plex across from Charlestown Cafe that otherwise is proposed for demolition and replacement with a mixed-use building. Its history is told, with copious photos, in the 46-page landmark-nomination document by West Seattle-based Nicholson Kovalchick Architects (you can read it here), with details such as “this was one of many apartment buildings for which the architect William H. Whiteley was well-known locally”; the document also includes a summary of West Seattle history and the background of the “bungalow court” type of apartment building this is considered to be, with an addendum cataloging some of West Seattle’s “bungalow courts” (such as the “Green Ghetto” whose ex-residents eulogized it in comments here after its demolition, and the 3400-block California buildings torn down recently, before/after photos here) The Landmarks Board meeting (3:30 this afternoon, 40th floor of the Seattle Municipal Building downtown) should be lively – also on the agenda, the much-discussed Ballard Denny’s.
Dog-poisoning investigation update, plus a party for “Mo”
Some good news about the dog-poisoning concerns at Fauntleroy Park and Westcrest Park (background in previous WSB coverage here): Seattle Parks security supervisor Larry Campbell was at tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting, 
and he says nothing more has been reported since the most widely publicized case, in which “Mo” the Katrina survivor (photo left) got sick after romping at Westcrest. However, he says, the Parks Department has put up flyers saying it’s keeping close watch on the parks, and asking that anyone who sees anything suspicious, or thinks their dog’s been poisoned, call 206/684-7457. Meantime, “Mo” continues to recover, and we just got word tonight of a fundraising party this weekend:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Gunshots tonight; other updates
Some news from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting at the Southwest Precinct: Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio told the group about a shots-fired investigation under way earlier tonight near the South Delridge 7-11 — at least half a dozen shots fired, nobody hurt, but a parked vehicle was hit. He says the search for suspects is focusing on a “suspicious apartment” in a building on 20th SW, and the SPD Gang Unit is looking at this case. (10:03 PM UPDATE: Coverage we just watched on TV tells a slightly different story – KING 5 reports the car hit by gunfire belonged to Chief Sealth HS employee Barry Ray, who says he was driving when the bullet hit – here’s the link to the story.) Topacio and fellow CPT Officer Brian Ballew also had updates on some of the investigations we’ve followed in previous West Seattle Crime Watch coverage:Read More
35th/Alaska paving: Could it be … Bruno’s last gasp?
Just got this. We suspect it’s the section best known for “Bruno” the pothole (backstory here and here, which included photos such as the one above), going out to check:
SDOT to pave 35th Ave SW at SW Alaska
SDOT crews will begin tomorrow (February 20) to pave a portion of 35th
Avenue SW at SW Alaska Street. One northbound lane on 35th Avenue SW
will be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day for approximately one
week.
5:26 PM UPDATE: Marybeth Turner of SDOT confirms “it is the same area, according to our pavement management staff.” So bye-bye, “Bruno” …
Deadly Westwood crash: Victim’s family still has questions
We now know a lot more about the woman hit and killed while crossing Barton by Westwood Village a week and a half ago — 55-year-old Therese (Teri) Marie Soike — the first pedestrian killed in West Seattle since 85-year-old Oswald Clement last October. The photo you see at left was provided by Teri’s daughter Shelby Hampton, who says the family is “still in shock” and “completely devastated” — Shelby adds, “My sister and I were very close to our mother and nothing can prepare you for a death like this.” They are hoping to find witnesses to the crash, and agreed to talk with WSB:Read More
Happening today/tonight: Election, RapidRide, crimefighting
ELECTION: Presidential primary, 7 am-8 pm if you haven’t voted by mail; more info here.
RAPIDRIDE: Last of 4 West Seattle open houses to share information and take comments for this phase of Metro’s West Seattle RapidRide bus-service planning, 6-7:30 pm @ Southwest Library.
CRIMEFIGHTING: West Seattle Community Safety Partnership, under new leadership elected last month, invites you to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct. If you have a neighborhood crime or nuisance concern and would like to ask local police what’s being done, or what can be done, about it — this hour is well worth your time. (WSB coverage of last month’s WSCSP meeting is here.)
Dates announced for this year’s Alki Art Fair
Another reminder that summer (not to mention spring) is getting closer: Just got a note asking us to tell you that the dates are set for this year’s Alki Art Fair (photo above is from last summer’s event) — July 26-27 — and organizers have set up a website too (check it out here) with info on how to register to participate this year as an artist or craftsperson vendor.
Salon closed for a day after trash-can mishap
Just got a message from Illusions (WSB sponsor) asking us to let you know that they’ll be closed tomorrow for cleaning because of a trash-can mishap on Friday. Your editor here was actually there (incognito) getting a haircut when it happened, as, it turned out, was Rhonda from Beach Drive Blog, who had a camera handy. It seemed too small to bother noting here at the time – we’ve seen a lot of smoldering trash cans in our day – but a salon spokesperson says they’ve since decided to bring in professional cleaners to get rid of some extinguisher residue, so they’ll be closed tomorrow and hope to reopen at noon Tuesday. (More info on the Illusions website.)
Crime Watch reader report: Laundromat customer robbed
Just out of the inbox from Olympic Heights Laundry (7347 35th) owners Paul and Dave:
Just wanted to let you know, that I just spoke with one of our customers who was using the Laundromat last night about 10:30 and she was attacked and robbed. She is one of our regular customers who comes in to do laundry around 10:00 PM, we allow our customers to start as late as 10:00 PM, and the door has an auto lock on it. She said that 2 heavy set African American girls came in and asked to borrow 50 cents, and then left. They returned a short time later to “warm up” and when she was in the back of the laundry they pinned her and took her credit cards, phone, and some change. She did state that they appeared to not be very good at their robbery, with one giving all the directions and the other doing the job. She did report this to the police and I believe I know who these suspects are as they wait for a bus right across the street.
They say they plan to beef up laundromat security. Meantime, as in any crime case, let police know if you have any information that might help them make arrests; 625-5011 is the nonemergency lin.
West Seattle Farmers’ Market: Big news AND the “fresh sheet”
Wendy broke the news (in comments on this item last weekend), and now it’s confirmed in e-mail from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market parent organization: “We are currently in the processing of securing the Market site in West Seattle for all the Sundays in March and April so that the market can stay open until spring without interruption.” Otherwise, WSFM was set to close temporarily after next Sunday. So keep your fingers crossed – and now, here’s the “fresh sheet” for today’s market, 11 am-2 pm in The Junction:Read More
New information since we
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