West Seattle, Washington
15 Monday
This out of the inbox from Tony, who reports both sightings in Arbor Heights:
1. Chevy Cavalier on 30th ave sw with a punched out door lock and a hack saw blade and a key on the floorboard. I notified the police of a suspicious vehicle at 12 midnight last night but apparently it was of low importance as it was still there this morning (And still is there) I notified the police again this morning. They stopped by and placed a 72 hour sticker on the vehicle since it was not reported stolen yet.
2. Chevy Suburban on 34 th ave sw . Police are on the scene investigating a possible stolen SUV. I know this because it was found in front of our friends house and we found it odd we would both find stolen vehicles in front of our houses on the same day. At this location my friend saw a couple males drop off the vehicle , jump into another vehicle. He jumped in his car and followed but the car pulled over and he just drove by since it appeared they knew they were being followed.
That’s what Puget Sound Key and Lock co-owner Michael Dein just told WSB at the scene of this morning’s arson (note the big red-and-white sign on the window, clearly marking this now as an arson scene). Dein says they had no fire insurance — just the required liability insurance for his business, which is now a charred mess:
He tells WSB they’ve been in this spot at 6014 California since last August, after moving from a location on 35th north of Barton, where he says they were repeatedly hit by vandals, though overall, regarding the fire, he told us he doesn’t have any enemies who would have wanted to do something like this. While we (and lingering TV crews) were there, a woman he described as his “property manager” showed up, and they went in to look at the damage (Dein is in the cap at right):
Just moments earlier, he had told us pleasantly, “You can tell your readers, if anybody has any idea who did this, I’ll come over and make them dinner!” Then, as we walked away from the scene while he got back to tending to the aftermath of this arson, we heard shouts of raw rage from inside the business, apparently as they got an even-closer look at how much they had lost. More to come later whenever new police/fire info is available; as noted previously, there is a chance whoever did this was burned while doing it (police are quoted as saying a “bottle with some kind of accelerant” is suspected), and so might be very obvious to family, friends, or medical practitioners if they seek help. 11:10 AM UPDATE: If you miss it in the comments section – readers are organizing benefit efforts to help the arson victims. Get the latest here; donations can be made at any Wells Fargo branch, to account 5358011681.
Police are reported to be looking for suspects in an overnight fire set at Puget Sound Key and Lock at 6014 California (map). Here’s tv news coverage for starters (also here). One report says “… Witnesses reported seeing two young men leaving the scene … two white males wearing red shirts and blue jeans,” who might also have been burned, so officers are checking with hospitals and clinics. Call 911 if you have any idea who’s involved; we’ll have daylight pix here shortly. 7:55 AM ADDITION: According to an update from the Fire Department, the people in the apartment above the businesses got out OK. This is right next to the relatively new West Seattle Digital store that we reported on three months ago (you can even see part of the pre-fire locksmith store in the photo); we’re checking on nearby business effects. The major fire and police units are long gone – no traffic impediments at the scene – just a clot of tv trucks.
Meet the new president of the Alki Community Council, just elected tonight, Jule Sugarman. He has a long history of nonprofit and government work — from running the nationwide Head Start program for its first five years, to serving as our state’s Secretary of Social and Health Services, to his current role as president of West Seattle Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (and lots inbetween). He succeeds Jackie Ramels, who’s leaving ACC leadership as are secretary Peter Stekel and trustee Gary Ogden; those jobs are now in the hands of new secretary Paul Carr (who you know from the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project, which just hit the $250,000 fundraising mark) and new trustee Lee Johnson. Re-elected officers and trustees are vice president Randie Stone, treasurer Larry Carpenter (an inaugural West Seattle Community Recognition Award honoree), and trustees Tony Fragada and Cami MacNamara (who’s also editor of the Alki News Beacon — which from now on, take note, will only be mailed to ACC members, so if you want to receive it, be sure your dues are paid up!).
Before any more time elapses – the rest of our notes from the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting last night (first report here, including an explanation of DNDC) – with events and initiatives we’re betting you’ll want to know about:Read More
After the malfunction involving the “Alaskan Way Viaduct Closed When Flashing” lights 
in West Seattle and elsewhere last month, the city Transportation Department said there would be a test before The Viaduct’s planned closure this weekend. Now, according to a news release sent out by SDOT this afternoon, it appears the “test” will be concurrent with the actual closure, and the system won’t be proclamed “fully functional” until and unless it works throughout the shutdown (6 am-6 pm each day, Saturday and Sunday; the Battery Street Tunnel will be closed for the duration, 6 am Saturday to 6 pm Sunday). Here’s the full text of the city news release:Read More
Just in from the office of King County Councilmember Dow Constantine:
Service on the Elliott Bay Water Taxi is set to resume Sunday, April 27 as the West Seattle-to-downtown passenger ferry begins its summer season.
Last year was the busiest ever for the Water Taxi, as total ridership increased by 32 percent over the foot ferry’s record 2006 numbers. A total of 161,331 riders took the taxi last summer, as compared with 122,650 in 2006. The extra revenues generated by this record ridership allowed King County to extend commute hour service through late October.
“In the past decade, the Water Taxi has become a treasured community asset, as both a viable commuter option and an enjoyable “shortcut†that takes West Seattle visitors out of traffic and on to Puget Sound,†said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. “The newly established King County Ferry District will finally provide a stable funding source for this vital service. In the coming years, we will be improving the boats, sailing times, and dock facilitiesâ€
A kickoff event is planned for April 27. Event details and Water Taxi schedules will be announced shortly.
We’re checking on the various components of this for a followup later today, but in the meantime, this is bigger than the More page roundup, so in case you haven’t heard – as reported (so far) in the P-I and on Q13 and at KING5.com, someone cleared a section of city-owned slope over the 1600 block of Harbor Avenue (area map), without authorization. Neighbors blame a homeowner trying to get a better view. Police are investigating, and the culprit could face criminal charges. ADDED 4:55 PM: Added the photo, which shows the general slope area where this happened (just below the hedge-ish plants at the bottom of the white draping); difficult to get a close-up shot of the stumps from where we tried. Just talked to the Southwest Precinct – no new developments in the investigation today; cases like this take a while to develop (everyone may think they know who did it, but you need evidence). A parks spokesperson tells WSB that once there is definite identification, they “will determine an appropriate fine for the perpetrator based on the economic value of the trees and damage to the area.” Still waiting for word on how, and how soon, the city might restore the damaged area – since there are certainly erosion and slide concerns on a slope like that. ADDED 10:15 PM: Did manage to get a closer view of the apparent slash zone earlier this evening:
Last night we sat in on the monthly meeting of the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council, one of two district councils in West Seattle, each including representatives of neighborhood groups and other major noncommercial organizations. This time around, the Delridge Council hosted two guests from City Hall: Council President Richard Conlin (who’s made two other high-level appearances in WS recently, at the Southwest District Council and at the Alki Community Council), and Mayor Nickels’ community-outreach director Pamela Green. Both had a lot to say – as did the regular attendees – and we’re going to break it out into several updates, starting with this one about two ways the city’s looking for YOUR opinion right now:Read More
Thanks to the folks at WSB sponsor Ventana Construction for snapping pix at Fauntleroy/Alaska a short time ago, as they spotted this “FOR LEASE” sign going up on the ex-Huling/Gee lot on the southeast corner. Here’s the leasing company; as of this moment, the listing isn’t on their site, nor is it coming up in a general search of commercial sites “for lease.” Data point: Unlike many surrounding parcels, this land isn’t actually owned by the Hulings, according to King County property records. MARCH 26 ADDENDUM: The completed sign says for sale OR for lease.
Sanislo Elementary – tucked into a wooded corner along Myrtle a few blocks east of Delridge – bills itself as “the small school with big ideas.” Tonight was the night their librarian Maryann Horsley‘s big idea for “West Seattle Reads” (previous coverage here) took flight as kids picked up free books – with a kite theme – and watched a kite expert show them some fun creations:
The goal is to get as many West Seattle kids as possible reading these two books (“The Emperor and the Kite†by Jane Yolen and Ed Young for younger kids, “The Kite Fighters†by Linda Sue Park and Eung Won Park for older kids) and then joining in two discussions at local libraries in a few weeks:
The discussions are April 14 at Delridge Library and April 15 at Southwest Library. Then “West Seattle Reads” wraps up with a kite celebration at Sanislo on April 27. And if you couldn’t go last night – you can still get the free books and join in “West Seattle Reads” — e-mail Maryann Horsley (click here).
… when we checked its automated list of updated West Seattle-related news, after linking to it in our previous post, we learned of this news that also seems worth a home-page mention: The company behind Pay-By-Touch fingerprint-authenticated payment — which West Seattle Thriftway was the first retailer to use (making history in 2002) — is shutting down. The article briefly quotes Thriftway owner Paul Kapioski; we’ll see if we can find out more tomorrow about how this affects the store. (According to this news release, the shutdown is effective as of late tonight.)
This just in from detectives at the Southwest Precinct: The youngest of the three suspects arrested after a West Seattle burglary on Monday (WSB coverage here) is now also confirmed to be the suspect in a shooting outside the Renton Fry’s store last week. According to this article about the shooting, it happened when a Fry’s employee tried to stop a car theft; nobody was hit or hurt by the gunfire. The suspect just turned 17 this month.
Yes, we know, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for all day: The arrival of last year’s “American Idol” finalist Chris Richardson at Roxbury Safeway this afternoon to promote ice cream and sign autographs. Our video clip captures the full magic of his SUV arrival, entry into the store, and initial autograph-signing, in a compact 1:15 of video goodness. (A few dozen fans were there to greet him, in case you were wondering; he’s supposed to be there till 5:30.) If you prefer YouTube video, we put this clip there too.
First one: If you haven’t seen these banners yet — Morton’s Pharmacy in The Junction is being taken over by Pharmaca, a chain that bills itself as an “integrative pharmacy” and already has stores in Madison Park and Wallingford. (Thanks to Krista for the tip.) The other new name — remember the Rip Tide condo conversion on Alki Point? We now know the building’s new name is Lighthouse Point. Here’s its website; news of the name actually emerged when the developers called to ask if it’s OK if they link WSB to the community section of their website. (If you’re curious – we were – the site lists only a few prices so far, in the $200K vicinity.)
As of 1 o’clock this afternoon, the testimony’s over, and paperwork is what’s next in the fight over what can be built on the big front lawn of the landmark Satterlee House (the “Painted Lady” at 4866 Beach Drive, photo above). The city called one last “rebuttal witness” this afternoon — someone who almost wasn’t called to testify, as the city legal team explained while closing hearing-room proceedings with an official protest following the testimony:Read More
From the city’s Daily Permit Issuance report: The Exxon station at 35th/Barton just got a permit that says it’ll be adding a “5,000-gallon above-ground biodiesel tank.”
Going to get this all out in one long 3-part report: First, details on an incident last night that several people e-mailed us about today. Second, news from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting. Third, the police reports we reviewed at the Southwest Precinct yesterday afternoon but never got around to posting before all sorts of other news (missing girl found, etc.) started breaking. All ahead:Read More
Big crowd tonight at the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s annual Fauntleroy Food Fest. And as had been discussed while we were at last week’s FCA meeting – this was carried off as a virtually waste-free event – if it wasn’t edible or drinkable, it was recyclable or reusable. Reminder, the next big Fauntleroy event is one week from tomorrow — the community open house with updates on the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse situation (as reported here), 6:30-8 pm March 26th, The Hall @ Fauntleroy.
Six weeks after the Charlestown Cafe fire – six weeks with plenty of uncertainty – the news is just in from restaurant owner Larry Mellum:
I wanted to pass along to you the good news that we are moving forward with our repairs from the fire we had on Feb. 4th. Our Landlord has agreed to get our Hood System fixed and upgraded to meet necessary codes so we are “officially” on the mend. I would expect it to take at least four weeks to get the doors back opened. I want to thank everyone who contacted us regarding the fire, wished us well and inquired if they could help us in any way!! This is an amazing community of which we are honored to be a part of. We will keep you updated with our progress and with any luck we will see everyone in a month.
In the meantime, if you didn’t already know this, Larry also owns Pike Place Chowder, with two downtown locations – Pike Place and Pacific Place – so you can get a chowder fix if you’re downtown, till Charlestown reopens.
From a city news release issued late today:
Mayor Greg Nickels will declare open season on potholes at a press conference tomorrow morning, kicking off a campaign by the city’s Pothole Rangers to fill a record number of the axle-bending offenders over the next week.
The mayor will issue a pothole hunting license to all drivers and bikers to flush out the worst potholes in the city and report them to 684-ROAD. He will then join the Rangers as they fill the first pothole in their record-setting attempt.
The press conference is going to be in — no, not West Seattle, our kindred spirit across the bay, Ballard. Which of course means we must hereby show you the best “Almost Live” clip ever:
Now in its third (partial) week before city Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner, testimony in the Satterlee House (above) case is almost over, with no more than 2 additional witnesses expected tomorrow afternoon. It wasn’t supposed to continue into this week; property owner William Conner, who is appealing a city Landmarks Board decision about what he can do with the house’s huge lawn, isn’t even sitting in on the proceedings any more as of today:Read More
This 4-plex at 1716 California (map) is proposed for teardown-to-townhomes (four duplexes on the drawing board). That fact itself is not where the controversy lies here — it involves both the height of the proposed buildings and the fact that the property includes former city land with an open-space requirement, and the neighborhood is concerned about whether the development will live up to that requirement. A meeting with neighbors is planned for Thursday night, but even the purpose and scope of that meeting are in dispute:Read More
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