West Seattle, Washington
15 Friday
A week and a half ago, we reported from the courthouse as King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Barnett announced the latest decision in the fight over what, if anything, will be built on the lawn of the landmark Satterlee House (aka the “Painted Lady” of Beach Drive). She ruled against Satterlee House owner William Conner in his appeal of a decision made last April by the city Hearing Examiner (WSB coverage here). That decision in turn had affirmed a vote last year by the city Landmarks Board, denying Conner permission to build three 3,000-square-foot-average homes — not denying permission to build ANYTHING on the lawn, just rejecting this specific proposal as potentially marring the characteristics that led to the property being designated in the early ’80s as a city landmark. After Judge Barnett’s ruling on October 24th, Conner’s lawyer Richard Hill told WSB they would “digest” the ruling before deciding whether to continue the challenge; we checked back with Hill this morning to see if a decision had been made, and he replied, “Yes, Mr. Conner intends to appeal.” Next stop, the state Court of Appeals; we will continue to cover this, every step of the way.
2 major meetings on the WSB Events calendar: 1:30 pm at the King County Council Chambers, it’s the King County Ferry District public hearing we’ve been telling you about – if you can possibly break away to go voice your support for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, it could mean a lot to the service’s future; if you can’t be there, send a WT support note to info@kingcountyferries.org … 7 pm tonight @ Denny Middle School, it’s the next session for the Design Team plotting the Denny site’s future, once the school itself moves to a new building on the Chief Sealth campus (here’s our report on the last meeting).
Here are the results of our weekly Sunday night drive-by survey of posted regular and premium prices at West Seattle gas stations; prices are still sliding, but more slowly than the previous week. The biggest price drop of the week was 36 cents/gallon (3 stations), compared to 44 cents last week. Even more notably, only one non-diesel price, at one West Seattle station, remains above $3.00; everything else is 2-something, as you’ll see in the list ahead:Read More
We have just confirmed information posted earlier tonight in the following comment on our original report about Saturday’s accident near Seacrest, in which a 25-year-old diver turned up missing and was rushed to the hospital (along with the two divers who brought him up and needed to be checked out for effects of rapid ascent):
The missing diver was my brother, his name is Duy Tran. We do not know how long he was under water for before he was found, nor have we been told about what the possible cause of the accident was. He has severe brain damage from the extended period of time he was without oxygen, we were told that it took 30 minutes to get his heart beating again. We just hope that there will be some good news somewhere in the future.
Before republishing this comment here atop the home page in an update, we called Harborview Medical Center to verify whether a patient by that name is there. We just received a call back from the nursing supervisor who confirmed that yes, Duy Tran is there, and listed in serious condition. We also followed up with the sister who left the comment; she added in an e-mail reply, “My brother’s wife called me this afternoon and told me about the post on WSB … my brother did not have ID on him when he was diving, and my family did not find out about what had happened until around 8 pm yesterday … My family has lived in West Seattle for almost 10 years and we have always found it a wonderful place to call home. It is sad that the closeness to Alki that my family loves about West Seattle so much has caused us so much pain.” Seattle Police Harbor Patrol took over the investigation yesterday; there has not been a formal update from SPD since then, but we will be checking tomorrow morning to see if they have determined what went wrong — as we showed you in video added to our original report, SPD divers went down yesterday afternoon to look for clues. MONDAY MIDMORNING UPDATE: No new information re: the police investigation, according to Seattle Police spokesperson Officer Renee Witt. We also checked again with Harborview, where spokesperson Susan Gregg-Hanson tells WSB this morning that Mr. Tran is still listed in serious condition. MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Lila Tran has posted a photo of her brother on her blog, and describes him as “in a coma.”
As we’ve reported previously (Sept. 25, Sept. 26, Oct. 7), West Seattle is about to get a barbecue joint, and tonight we know when it’ll open: Otis Austin from the OK Corral called WSB today to say this Thursday’s the day. (In our 10/7 update, he had said he expected to open in the first half of November, so he’s right on schedule.) If you missed our earlier updates, he already has a successful OK Corral in Greenwood, and he’s taking over the West Seattle restaurant space at 4417 Fauntleroy (map), long-vacant former home of Seattle Teriyaki and Burger, next to recently remodeled/changed-hands Tervo’s Mini-Mart. Otis says he’s planning to be open noon-10 pm, 7 days a week, for starters, while he gets a feel for what the neighborhood wants — and for the first two months, he’ll offer a “five-dollar lunch special.” Asked exactly what you’ll get for your five bucks, Otis says with a friendly chuckle that you’ll just have to go in and see. As he had told us last month, though there will be a table or two, the focus will be on takeout.
(click to see full-size potential route map on Metro website)
Two weeks ago, we told you about proposed Metro Route 50, which would include a leg between Delridge and The Junction. It’s not getting a ton of attention in West Seattle because it’s included in a package of proposals that Metro is spotlighting as Southeast Seattle changes — all related to the launch of light rail next year. Metro’s taking public comments through next Thursday, so we’re reminding you about this one more time in case you want to pipe up. this page has all the details on your commenting options, including e-mail, phone, and postal-mail methods, or this online questionnaire (note that you’ll find Route 50 about halfway in). Metro says it will decide in January whether this (and other) proposals go forward; more comments will be solicited, and then a final county decision is expected by May.
From West Seattle acupuncturist Miranda Taylor (who you may know for her advocacy with the High Point Neighborhood Association), we get word of acupuncturists citywide banding together to offer free services to Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans on November 11th, and planning a permanent clinic to support them. Read on for full details:Read More
Thinking of a furry new addition to your household? Now’s the time, Morgan Junction’s the place. The Morgan Junction Pet Adoption Stroll is under way right now — with adoptable pets at Pet Elements (California/Holly; here’s a map), Stella Ruffington‘s (two doors down from Caffe Ladro; here’s a map), and The Wash Dog (next to Kokoras Greek Grill; here’s a map). When we stopped by a few minutes ago (before the stormy weather returned, but don’t let that stop you), Pet Elements still had a half-dozen-plus available cats and kittens from Purrfect Pals shelter, including the two you see above, and these two:
(Hard to get cats to pose, but you know that if you share your home with one or more!) Again, three venues, one afternoon, cats AND dogs, continuing till 4 pm today, more info here. Furry Faces Foundation organized it and is participating with adoptable pets; the Pet Stroll comes on the heels – or should we say the paws – of F3’s “Catsino” fundraiser, with recreational casino-inspired gaming on Saturday at Beveridge Place Pub — check out a couple of the characters we found there:
Furry Faces Foundation is a local labor of love, with advocacy for rescued animals and spaying/neutering – keep an eye out for their other fundraisers year-round, from plant sales in the spring to wreath sales for winter!
Thanks to Cindi Barker of the Morgan Community Association for forwarding that rendering from the city’s Public Art program. It shows the original concept for a public-art project that’s now being proposed for the sidewalk alongside the new Morgan Junction park, as revealed at the last MoCA meeting (WSB coverage here). This rendering was created when the project by SuttonBeresCuller was on the boards for a Central District location, so its configuration may well change, but the idea’s the same — frames set into the sidewalk with surfaces for people to create temporary art. The city had already funded it for the original location, so installing it at Morgan Junction’s new park won’t cost that project anything more, and MoCA voted to support the idea; this is the first time the rendering’s been available for wider distribution here. SDOT already had agreed to sidewalk improvements by the new park, for which construction might start before year’s end, project manager Virginia Hassinger told MoCA last month.
The pic at left is a hint … kiwis are part of what’s on this week’s fresh list; see the entire list here. Remember, West Seattle Farmers’ Market is year-round now, so today and every Sunday, you’ll see it 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska in The Junction.
ART TO RAISE $ FOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN: When the West Seattle Farmers’ Market opens at 10 am tomorrow, Fairmount resident Nancy Driver will be there to sell what you see above – and is expecting it to go fast. She explains in e-mail, “I and a couple of friends from the clay studio I work in very belatedly decided to make some ceramic items to raise money for the Obama/Biden campaign. We have some very cool and very colorful, original artwork, Obama fridge magnets, coasters and hot plates for sale. The prices will be: fridge magnets – two sizes for $5 and $6.50; 3-7/16″ coasters – $10; 6″ hot plates – $15. All of the money will go to the Obama campaign – we should end up with around $400.” Nancy says she’ll be “hanging out behind Key Bank” but as soon as the items – fewer than 50 left – are gone, she’s gone, so if you’re interested, be there at 10.
LOOKING FOR VOTES, ONE DOORBELL, ONE PHONE AT A TIME: You may have gotten a visit or a call already this weekend – both sides are canvassing West Seattle. The 34th District Republicans fanned out from Westwood Village this morning, and it was a big day of work for volunteers from the 34th District Democrats (advertising their sample ballot via WSB), who will be on the streets again tomorrow after a citywide rally on Beacon Hill with state, local, and national Democratic Party leaders.
ELECTION DAY BAZAAR, BAKE SALE: This may be the last major election with in-person voting in King County, which originally had hoped to go all-mail by now. Toward that end, local groups are going to strike while the iron — or the ballot — is hot, with bake sales and bazaars on Election Day. Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) is having its traditional Fall Bazaar, 8 am-7 pm, selling baked goods and crafts, and offering a “hearty soup lunch” 11:30 am-1:30 pm. And outside Alki Community Center, you will find neighboring Alki Elementary School‘s PTA selling baked goods on Election Day.
BALLOT DROPBOX A SMASH HIT: Saw a TV mention tonight that the ballot drop-off box at Delridge Neighborhood Service Center, one of only two in the city, was overflowing for a while earlier today, but has since been emptied. For in-person voters, the county Elections Department is trying to get the word out that you shouldn’t be worried about long lines on Election Day – according to this update, it’s staffing polling places for the possibility of “100 percent turnout” but notes that two-thirds of all county voters cast ballots by mail (p.s. as of 8 pm Saturday, HALF those ballots have been returned, per twitter.com/kcvotes). If you haven’t made up your mind on everything yet, remember we have links to pro/con/neutral info on all major races and ballot measures on the WSB Election page, which also has continuously updated election headlines from citywide news sources and major state political blogs.
There’s a lot going on in The Junction — not just, oh, say, visits from the governor, but also, a thriving business district gearing up for the holidays. In fact, the West Seattle Junction Association just rejoined WSB as a sponsor to launch its “Live Local” campaign (more about that here, and in a WSB shopping-season preview tomorrow). Then, there’s the movement to “Eat Local,” and that’s where today’s story comes in. The photo above shows the ground floor of Harbor Properties‘ Mural, on 42nd SW across from Jefferson Square. That particular space, the northeast quadrant of its first floor, will become the home next year of Fresh Bistro, a new restaurant from the folks behind West Seattle-based caterers Herban Feast. A few months after news of the new restaurant emerged, we met with proprietor BJ Duft at the site recently to get the newest details about what’s in the works — from the food (with a chef from legendary Canlis!) to the hours (good news for night owls) to the innovative plan for takeout:Read More
If you weren’t already aware of this – the Senior Center of West Seattle is lots livelier than the senior centers of yesteryear. Take a look at that photo shared by Cindy Gwinn – that’s the sold-out crowd that jammed the SC for Halloween Rainbow Bingo a week ago. Cindy tells us the next bingo session will be in February – we’ll let you know when the date is finalized. Meantime, we’ve mentioned before that the Stop ‘n’ Shop store on the center’s ground floor is closed for remodeling; a grand reopening party is planned for November 15th, and before then, Cindy says: “We are looking for helpers! We need people to help assemble shelving this coming weekend, the 8th and 9th of November. We are also looking for volunteers to work in the store. Anyone that can help or that would like to volunteer, please call 206 915-5595.”
We’ve reported before about North Delridge neighbors banding together to add play equipment for younger kids to Cottage Grove Park. Today, we have an update from Betsy Hoffmeister with the North Delridge Neighborhood Council — who sent the newly released site plan (click the image to see a larger version, with the full legend) and this message to the community:
Dear neighbors and concerned citizens,
The North Delridge Neighborhood Council would like to seek your input on proposed additions to the Cottage Grove Park Playground. We are contacting you directly because you previously attended a meeting or gave comments on projects around Longfellow Creek, Cottage Grove Park, or Greg Davis Park. Many of you put a great deal of effort into creating the beautiful green spaces the neighborhood enjoys today and we are grateful for the thousands of hours you have all put into this work.
Since Cottage Grove Park was conceived of and built, neighborhood demographics have shifted a little bit. Along with conceiving of a park, many neighbors conceived babies and we now have a baby boom in the area! We have two sets of twins on 26th Avenue alone. Many of the parents of young children in the neighborhood have expressed a wish for a play space appropriate for children under the age of five. The current play structure is brilliant for older kids, but impossible for younger children to use, forcing caregivers to shuttle younger children to other area play spaces. As a consequence, the existing playground may be underused.
A group of interested parents and grandparents under the auspices of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council brought forth the idea of a small addition to the current playground, to include at bare minimum a swing set with toddler and big kid swings, a small climber, and some rocking toys. We had a series of public meetings, posted on West Seattle Blog, and met repeatedly with the Parks Department and the Department of Neighborhoods. Children in the neighborhood were enthusiastic about the idea. A Landscape Architect created a site plan, which is attached.
Based on community input, we raised $16,000 in in-kind donations and cash, and received a $15,000 matching grant from the City. Before we proceed, however, we want to make sure that stakeholders have had a chance to comment on the proposed site design.
If any of you are so excited about this idea that you would like to participate, that would be fantastic. The landscape architect estimates the total cost of the project at around $42,000, although the parks department figures it will be quite a bit more than that, meaning we have a long way to go before we can dig dirt. So any experienced fundraisers out there would be dearly welcomed!
If you have already commented, it would still be great to hear back from you. I am grateful for any responses.
Sincerely,
Betsy Hoffmeister
Co-Vice President, North Delridge Neighborhood Council
E-mail Betsy at: northdelridge@gmail.com. Meantime, NDNC’s next monthly meeting is 6:30 pm Wednesday at Delridge Library.
(photo added 12:01 pm — investigators from multiple agencies including SPD Harbor Patrol)
ORIGINAL 11:28 AM REPORT: Major fire/medic response for a “water rescue” in the 1700 block of Harbor, just west of Seacrest. Scanner says a diver is being brought to the hospital. On our way to the scene to find out more about what happened. 11:52 AM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick is at the scene and reports the Fire Department incident commander on the scene says three divers were brought to the surface by fellow divers because of some kind of trouble. What went wrong, and what condition they’re in, we don’t know yet – a public-information officer is on the way and we expect more information then. This happened between Seacrest and Salty’s. Will update when info comes in. (Side note – Our archives show the last major incidents involving divers in the Seacrest area were the death of Joshua Magee last January, five months after 43-year-old Wayne Hernandez died in July 2007. 12:26 PM UPDATE: An update from Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen: They got a call around 11 about a missing diver. When a fireboat arrived, two divers had brought that “missing diver” – a 25-year-old man – to the surface. Firefighters began CPR and took the 25-year-old to shore. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center. The other two were transported as a “precautionary measure” because of possible effects of making a rapid ascent. Vander Houwen says they were diving about 100 feet from shore and about 100 feet down. Another source at the scene tells WSB these three were part of a group of six diving in and around a “wreck” (here’s a dive map of that general area). 2:49 PM UPDATE: The Police Department has not updated its report on the investigation — divers returned to the scene to see what they could find out; we shot this video as they went into the water from the patrol boat:
However, we just checked with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office to see if they had been called in (which would be the case if anyone had died) – they say no. That’s the closest we can come right now to finding out any information on the condition of the rescued diver, since privacy laws have long since made it impossible for media to call a hospital and inquire about someone if you don’t have their name. We’ll keep checking with authorities for updates.
Click that picture to play the video clip — and a few seconds in, you’ll hear the captain’s farewell, as she sailed the Elliott Bay Water Taxi away from West Seattle for the last time at 11 pm last night. (We were at Seacrest for the WT’s first arrival of the year on 4/27/08, so it seemed only right to see it off for the season finale.) Twelve hours earlier, we were on the EBWT as a prelude to County Councilmember Dow Constantine’s media briefing — we shared most of the information (and some pix) in this earlier report, but here’s one more loose end – his reiteration of the importance of going to the King County Ferry District public hearing Monday afternoon to let other board members know you support the WT as they get ready to decide whether to reauthorize the Ferry District levy (or e-mailing your support):
That hearing, again, is 1:30 pm Monday at the Council Chambers in the King County Courthouse downtown. (And if you just can’t be there, e-mail your thoughts about the Water Taxi to info@kingcountyferries.org) Meantime, one last tidbit of video — one of those clips that would wind up on the cutting-room floor but the Internet is infinite, so we’re tacking it on for those who like to see behind the scenes too – following the Moose and Councilmember Constantine over to the boat next door for the media briefing:Read More
As we reported from the courthouse Friday afternoon, the three-week trial of an Alki 18-year-old came to a dramatic conclusion with a King County Superior Court jury finding him not guilty on all counts stemming from the deadly shooting 10/13/07 inside a car at 59th/Admiral. Three hours after the verdict, records show, he was released from county jail — where he had spent more than one year and two weeks. Ahead, our wrapup of this case — what’s next — and video reaction from the lawyer who took the teenager’s case for free, and won:Read More
They didn’t win the league title, but the West Seattle High School Wildcats have no time to dwell on that – now it’s on to the playoffs, after last night’s loss to Eastside Catholic. Here’s our full report, including a video interview with the coach:Read More
Final score Eastside Catholic 38, West Seattle High School 14 — EC wins the Metro League title as the Wildcats suffer their first loss after an undefeated season. We’re at the stadium to get reaction; complete report later. (Looks like WSHS will play Enumclaw in the playoffs next week; here’s their latest game.)
Quick note while we stop briefly at WSB HQ during Halloween coverage (2/3 of the team) and WSHS football coverage (the other third’s there, reporting frequent updates at twitter.com/wsbbizdev, score here when it’s over, plus full wrapup): Gas at Arco and 76 on Delridge, 2.49/regular. We also have been to 4th Avenue Costco, where it was 2.43 (photo left). Anyone want to bet yet if we’ll go below $2? (P.S. Back on the Halloween theme – we’ve gotten a dozen trick-or-treaters here in Upper Fauntleroy within barely 10 minutes. Big change from years past.)
BULLETIN: Verdict for the 18-year-old defendant: Not guilty, not of murder, not of manslaughter, not of anything. His mother cried, “Oh my God,” sitting in the front row. More shortly. 4:15 PM UPDATE: Took extra time to get to “shortly” — we talked with defense lawyer Robert Perez after he went down a floor to handle paperwork for his client’s immediate release. The trial is not completely over — on Monday, jurors will return in order to decide another matter: Perez filed a motion for the state to pay his client’s legal costs if he was cleared. We’ll be there for that part of the case too. Separate full report later recapping the case and today’s developments. (Again, full archive of trial coverage is at the bottom of last night’s story.)
ORIGINAL 2:37 PM POST: There’s word the jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial that only WSB has been covering, with an Alki 18-year-old claiming self-defense in the deadly shooting of 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz inside a car at 59th/Admiral on 10/13/07. I am now standing by in the downtown courtroom of Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie, with reporter Rachel Gabrielle – who’s been covering the trial – on the way here, and I will post the verdict as soon as it’s read. (To catch up on the story, follow the links at the bottom of Rachel’s latest report.) – TR
Moments ago, that’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine and the Mariner Moose on board the Water Taxi with us and dozens of others – we’re publishing this from the lower deck (too rainy to be out on the upper deck, darn), on our way downtown for a media briefing on the WT’s recordsetting ’08 season, which ends after the last run tonight. West Seattle Chamber of Commerce executive director Patti Mullen is on board too and she will be part of the media briefing as well. More later! 11:59 AM UPDATE: Media briefing’s over. Here’s a group shot of everybody who spoke:
From left, Rob Johnson from the Transportation Choices Coalition; you know the next two; Patti Mullen from the WS Chamber; and Argosy Cruises CEO Kevin Clark, who paid tribute to the 10-year partnership his company has had with the Water Taxi program (first run, 5/23/98). The briefing, by the way, was on a bigger boat next to the Water Taxi’s mooring, Argosy’s Spirit of Seattle – the WT had to continue on its regular schedule. Councilmember Constantine, who spoke as chair of the King County Ferry District executive committee, said WT ridership has grown 70 percent in the past three years (almost 107K in 2005, almost 192K this year). It is scheduled to go year-round in 2010. Remember that hearing coming up Monday, as mentioned here; we’ll add a WT update later today/tonight with some video from today’s briefing – meantime, you can read the full, official news season-ender news release here – also added, a photo of The Moose at the Water Taxi wheel:Read More
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