West Seattle, Washington
11 Tuesday
Lots of bike riders in WSB-land, we’ve learned, so we’re sharing another announcement from the city – this time, seeking members for the mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Board:Read More
As we mentioned this morning, a briefing on the city’s “tree audit” was on the Seattle City Council agenda today. Here’s the council’s announcement on what happened and what’s next – starting with another discussion this Friday:Read More
This report is from a WSBer who asked to be anonymous. She saw a man vandalizing a Junction wall with hate graffiti this morning and says she also heard him utter an anti-gay slur; she’s reported it to the police but in light of the recent reports of anti-gay graffiti vandalism elsewhere in West Seattle, she wanted to share the information with you too in case it’s someone you see or have seen – read on:Read More
It would usually be a great place to enjoy the West Seattle sunshine – but this weekend, much of Jack Block Park on the Harbor Avenue waterfront was closed, according to several notes we received from WSBers wondering why. Jack Block Park is operated by the Port of Seattle; here’s what we found out by calling Peter McGraw, media officer for the port: “We have some blown fuses – an electricity problem we found out about on Friday, affecting the restroom areas and some walkways, so we had to shut them down for public safety, affecting about two thirds of the park.” He says crews were working over the weekend to try to fix the electrical problem and are back out at the park today; he’s expecting a status report in early afternoon – we’ll let you know when that new info is available.
(Delridge Playfield wading pool, photographed last year)
Recalling last summer’s West Seattle wading-pool controversy, we’ve been checking with Seattle Parks and Recreation from time to time, inquiring about this year’s plan for the city-run wading pools. Last week, we were told news was imminent. Never did get an announcement, but the 2009 schedule has now turned up on the Parks website — without fanfare or announcements, even though it includes some rather dramatic news we don’t recall hearing before: 11 of the city’s 25 wading pools will not open at all this year, while 8 others will open later than usual, explained by the city in the schedule document as follows:
… because of the need to complete federally required safety improvements required by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The Act, enacted by Congress and signed into law in December 2008, requires that all owners of pools and spas install specified new drain covers and second anti-entrapment systems to protect swimmers from possible injury or death caused by getting caught in pool drains. Because of the nationwide demand for the drain covers and anti-entrapment systems and the skilled labor required to install them, there are delays in the work all over the country.
As a result, here’s the plan for West Seattle’s wading pools (although the city cautions that this schedule could slide depending on how the work goes):
*Lincoln Park will open at the start of the season, June 20 (11 am-8 pm daily)
*Delridge Playfield will open July 8 (noon-7 pm daily)
*Hiawatha Playfield will open July 20 (noon-7 pm daily)
*E.C. Hughes Playground will open July 27 (noon-7 pm daily)
*Highland Park will not open this year at all
Note that all four of the West Seattle wading pools that will be open this year are scheduled to be open seven days a week – last year’s controversy involved the fact that only Lincoln Park and Hiawatha, both in western West Seattle, were open on Sundays, while Delridge, Hughes and Highland Park were closed Sundays; three weeks after we first reported on a community campaign to convince Parks to open Delridge on Sundays, the department agreed to do it for the rest of the year. Back to this year: This document has full details on the wading-pool situation citywide. Also note, Southwest Pool is open this summer, unlike last year when it was undergoing renovations; and Colman Pool, the saltwater outdoor swimming facility on the Lincoln Park shore, is scheduled to start its season this Saturday.
Bright and early last Friday morning, more than two dozen people gathered in Fauntleroy to hear six West Seattle-area community leaders discuss how their local organizations/service agencies are handling the economy and its effects on the people they serve. The occasion: the annual Community Panel organized by the board of the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor). Though panel members agreed that job losses and other problems are bringing them more clients, who in turn are coping with more anxiety, they also expressed general optimism. Read on for the main points each made, and the understanding that emerged before the event ended:Read More
Editor’s note: 3 months till our state’s primary – and while that sounds like a long time, we’ve got many more candidates to introduce you to, so — after kicking off with two County Executive candidate interviews (Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips) earlier this spring — we’re continuing the profiles now, with veteran West Seattle journalist Jack Mayne on the WSB politics-reporting team — starting with his story about one of the West Seattleites running for City Council, David Ginsberg:
(David Ginsberg at left, photographed after becoming the 34th District Democrats’ 2nd vice chair in January; note that the group has not yet made its endorsement in City Council races)
By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle’s David Ginsberg has been phased out of his technology job with Washington Mutual and now wants to displace Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin as the Position 2 councilmember.
Why three-term incumbent Conlin, when there are open seats?
“I understand this is the toughest seat I could have chosen,” Ginsberg said during a recent interview at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar in The Junction.
Two tipsters report traffic trouble along Fauntleroy in the Fairmount Park area because of a two-car crash – if you have to drive, take an alternate route. Thanks to Ray for the photo. 7:23 PM UPDATE: The scene is clear and traffic is back to normal.
Bumping this up in case you hadn’t already seen the link from SPDBlotter on the WSB Crime Watch page: This explains a couple notes we received about this time Saturday, regarding police chasing suspects in upper Alki. SPDBlotter reports:
Southwest Precinct officers were at 58th Avenue Southwest and Alki Avenue Southwest when they observed a stolen vehicle occupied by three suspects. When the officers approached (in heavy traffic) to attempt to arrest them, the suspects fled on foot. Following several foot pursuits and yard-to-yard searches, two of the three suspects were located and arrested.
Police say one suspect is an adult male, the other a juvenile male, and both were booked for investigation of auto theft. (We mentioned the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting in earlier CW updates today; we should also mention that police leadership will be at the Alki Community Council meeting Thursday — 7 pm, Alki Community Center — for updates in the aftermath of the May 1st shooting, and more on plans for summer police presence at the beach.)
Ray sent photos and info as “an FYI” about his car getting prowled in the 5900 block of 38th SW (map). He notes it’s a car he hadn’t moved in a while. As we mentioned in today’s earlier Crime Watch report: West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm Tuesday, Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster (map).
That video shows the start of this morning’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus 5K fundraising walk at Alki – third year for this event, and organizer Laurie Gray told us the hundreds of walkers raised about $40,000. Before the walk began, participants were told that researchers are making progress in the fight against lupus, an auto-immune disorder (explained here), by identifying specific genes linked to it. (Lupus is gender-linked, as well; 90 percent of patients are female.) This is one of more than a dozen Walk with Us to Cure Lupus events around the country (others are listed here); local businesses supported the event too, including WSB sponsor M3 Bodyworks, which had massage stations set up inside Alki Bathhouse:
From left, that’s Jen Barth, Michael Mandell and Liam Buell (he’s one of M3’s newest therapists, who are the inspiration for the “New Therapists Special” currently being promoted in M3’s WSB ad). Seattle Lutheran High School band members were on hand to help pump up the walkers, and Pioneer Coffee provided their signature beverage. Next 5K event on Alki: The first-ever West Seattle 5K to raise money for local schools; organizers are advertising on WSB for the rest of the month to help get the word out — it’s the kickoff event to the May 31 “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event (sequel to last September’s Car-Free Day, though the name has changed this year); you can register for the West Seattle 5K here.
From the Triangle district (4700 block of 36th; map), Mike sent that photo, wondering if anyone has more information about how their car window wound up in that condition. He says it happened between 12:30 am, when he and his wife went to bed, and 2:30 am, when a police officer woke them up; he says they didn’t hear this happen because their windows were closed to shut out noise from “revelers at the VFW” and wonders if it was related. It’s been reported to police, so there’s a case number if you call with info (206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number). By the way, it’s time for us to start reminding you that the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets this Tuesday, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (map), first meeting since high-profile cases including the May 1st Alki shooting and April 30th Junction bank robbery. WSCPC meetings are the biggest monthly opportunity to bring your concerns about crime/safety directly to local police leadership, since they’re always there both to brief the group and to answer attendees’ questions.
Special T-shirts are part of the festivities through 1 pm today as Our Lady of Guadalupe welcomes one and all to an open house at its new Pastoral Center (that’s Father Jack Walmesley at right).
Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett helped dedicate it two weeks ago (photo here). Inside the new center: 6,800 square feet of accessible meeting rooms, offices and storage. You can tour it today and enjoy refreshments too; OLG notes that this is just the start of its campus master plan – next phase, a Pastoral Life Center/Gym. Here’s a map to OLG’s location at 35th/Myrtle (on the highest hill in Seattle!).
Six weeks after two city councilmembers joined a Delridge delegation on a tour of problem properties – long-vacant houses used by squatters, or otherwise threatening neighborhood health and safety (WSB coverage is here and here) – we have two updates. First, 4117 Delridge (map) – where we got the above video clip during the April 3 tour, with North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s Mike Dady talking about the frustration that site has caused him for years – now has a demolition permit, issued just yesterday. (We saw a work crew at the site earlier today, though no backhoe in sight.) The permit says demolition will resolve a DPD case. Meanwhile, one of the councilmembers who joined in the tour, Sally Clark, mentioned her action plan in her monthly newsletter that’s just been e-mailed out:
… As a result of the neighborhood’s advocacy we will be looking at a change in the land use code to allow quicker demolition of a single family house. Right now you can’t demolish unless you have a plan and permit to rebuild. This concept makes sense in protecting housing stock and should be retained for multi-family areas. In single-family zones the requirement prevents owners who want to do the right thing from removing derelict homes. It’s not a perfect solution. I would rather see these houses reclaimed and lived in, but for some neighbors the wait for the perfect solution has already been too long. Watch for PLUNC to take up this idea this summer. If you’d like more information or have feedback about the idea of allowing demolition of single-family homes without a new building permit in hand, please contact me.
Here’s Councilmember Clark’s contact info; PLUNC is the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee that she chairs — track its meetings and agendas here. Councilmember Tim Burgess was on the tour too and promised at the time to pursue a proposal to make property owners more accountable, though it hasn’t come up yet before the Public Safety (etc.) committee he chairs.
There’s a lot more to being a good landlord/property manager than collecting the rent checks. With that in mind, Seattle Neighborhood Group joined WSB as a sponsor to get the word out about its one-day workshop for landlords/property managers – coming up this Wednesday in West Seattle. Here are the details:
Property manager or landlord? Searching for practical tips on managing your rental property? On May 20, an affordable, effective workshop is scheduled in West Seattle.
Topics include:
· Screen applications legally and effectively
· Create strong, enforceable rental agreements
· Attract and retain reliable tenants
· Prevent unwanted activity
· Motivate residents to report problems to you before they escalate
· Enhance physical spaces to make them safer & more secure for people who use them
· Recognize signs of drug and criminal activity
· Work with police and other resources to address trespass andillegal activity
· Recent changes in landlord/tenant law
· Crisis resolution, notices and evictions
The workshop is scheduled 8-4:30 Wednesday May 20 in West Seattle, at 2300 SW Webster (at Delridge Way SW), in the community room of the Southwest Precinct. At 8 AM, participants begin signing-in and pick up materials and a continental breakfast. At 8:30 AM, the workshop will start. Cost for the day is $25, including manual. Lunch: BYO or in the neighborhood. The workshop will end at 4:30 PM. Participants will receive certificate of completion. To pre-register, go to: www.sngi.org/landlord_register.html (through PayPal). For more information, contact SNG. E-mail lois@sngi.org or call 206-323-9666 / 206-323-3150.
The online brochure for this workshop can be seen here.
That’s the subject line of e-mail just in from Betsy Hoffmeister of North Delridge — sent not only to alert folks to possible trouble ahead, but to explain what many might not find out about till morning:
Any friends on 26th Ave W/Graham SW area [map] or possibly Snake Hill area or even up in High Point who wake up to property crime, vandalism, or broken windshield/windows are invited to join our police report. At 1:30 a.m. I was awakened by loud voices. My husband had watched a group of young people walking south on 26th yelling at each other. This group was on the bridge across Longfellow Creek yelling, hitting, and carrying on. We reported it to the police who despite my directions were there in seconds; when we went outside we saw that they had jumped on our windshield and shattered it. I wouldn’t be surprised if every windshield on the street is in a similar condition; we didn’t see them do it, so there’s no proof, but if the cops care they could measure footprints cause there’s a huge one in the dew on our car.
Lest you have any doubt – if you hear or see something/someone suspicious, police have reiterated at recent meetings, it IS the right thing to do to call 911 as soon as possible.
ORIGINAL 1:57 AM REPORT: Every so often, somebody e-mails to ask what the deal is with Cavvy’s, the never-open (yet not-empty) West Seattle store shown above in Google Street View, 5251 California SW, between Ephesus restaurant and Rick’s Barber Shop. Just half an hour ago, we got the tip from Rick himself – that Cavvy’s is supposed to open at 10 am today “after a mysterious 13-year hiatus … Everything will be on sale so shop early and shop often.” (Yes, we love 1 am news tips, or any time 24/7 …
editor@westseattleblog.com … 206-293-6302 …)
10:40 AM UPDATE: Sign on the door as of a few minutes ago says “Not open yet.”
11:58 AM UPDATE: Rick says in comments it’s now looking more like Monday. … And half an hour later, an update: Tuesday.
For more than a few local schools, it’s a tradition to get out of the classroom and walk laps to raise money — and today, perfect weather graced Alki Elementary School‘s annual springtime fundraiser, the Alki-a-thon. Allison Carver from the Alki Elementary PTA explained, “We stagger the grades (from oldest to youngest) and each grade makes a grand entrance with their own unique colorful team t-shirt and theme song!” Music, refreshment, and games – Crabwalk, Limbo, Buddywalk – were part of the fun. (Next week, by the way, Sanislo Elementary hits the ground running with its Jog-a-thon.)
Three days after confirming reports that teachers around the district were being notified of layoffs, Seattle Public Schools has just gone public with the total number of layoffs: “Approximately 172 teachers and other certificated staff (approximately 5% of the total certificated workforce),” according to a news release just sent out. Read on for the full text of the announcement (which does not contain a school-by-school breakdown):Read More
That’s what 34th District Rep. Sharon Nelson‘s legislative assistant Joe Fitzgibbon just told WSB, when we called/e-mailed to check before publishing a news release announcing Governor Gregoire had signed her payday-lending bill (HB 1709; history, info, documents here). As we reported yesterday, with video, Rep. Nelson had told the 34th District Democrats on Wednesday night that she was waiting to hear if the governor would sign her bill in its entirety. Fitzgibbon just replied to our inquiry with, “In the end, she did sign the whole bill as it passed the Legislature, and we are thrilled.” Here’s the news release, which explains what the bill does:Read More
(2008 Junction Car Show photo courtesy Mark B. Bauschke)
Just got an update from Liberty Bell Printing‘s Michael Hoffman, who’s coordinating the September 20th event: “The car show is an official go. We have had a great response from sponsors and are excited to continue planning the event.” WSB is proud to be among the West Seattle Junction Car Show sponsors again this year; there’s still room for more sponsors – the application can be downloaded here. That page, by the way, is part of the official West Seattle Junction Car Show website, now up and running at wsjunctioncarshow.com. Michael also lists a few of the highlights planned for the show this year:
Antique fire trucks from the Last Resort Fire Department.
SFD teaching Fire safety for kids.
The Oh Boy! Oberto hydroplane on display.
A DJ playing 50s & 60s Music.
Event T-shirts at a great value.
More room for more cars and fun
That last line refers to the fact they’ve gotten permission to close the Alaska/California intersection, as is done during the West Seattle American Legion Grand Parade (July 18 this year!) – not just two self-contained blocks like last year. The show will run from 8 am till 4 pm on September 20th.
(entrance and courtyard for new Denny Middle School)
We’ve just received these new renderings of what Denny Middle School — as of next fall, Denny International Middle School — will look like when its new building is complete on the Chief Sealth High School campus nearby. This view is looking west:
They’re from a presentation made to the Denny PTSA this week; you can see the full presentation, with other renderings, including the plan for the current Denny site, here. (While the presentation says the new building will be done in late winter 2011, we’re told that Denny principal Jeff Clark still plans to move the staff that summer and start classes there in fall 2011, as he told us two months ago .)
More on this week’s presentation, and other aspects of the ongoing CSHS renovation/DMS (future) construction project, can be found on this district-maintained website. The site also includes monthly construction updates (with photos).
Earlier this week, we reported on major progress toward construction money for the future Delridge Skatepark — 
the Skatepark Advisory Committee‘s recommendation that Parks Levy money for a Myrtle Reservoir skate feature move to the Delridge project (future site at right) instead. And this afternoon, there’s word the in-progress skatepark design will go public next week — the agenda for next week’s Seattle Design Commission meeting just arrived, and it includes a review of the Delridge Skatepark’s schematic design, next Thursday, 2 pm at City Hall. (We’re also watching to see if the proposed money move turns up on the next Parks Levy Oversight Committee agenda – the meeting is set for 7 pm May 26, and when the agenda is out, you’ll find it here.)
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