West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Thanks to Todd for the tip – more of the work promised by the city along Barton near Westwood Village is getting done – the tape and cones are protecting newly poured ramps at the crosswalk between the shopping center and Roxhill Park. This WSB report from April has more on what’s to be done in this area (which is just east of where parking restrictions were put into place to try to discourage “car ranching”).
Two big agenda items at tonight’s Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting at Southwest Community Center: The future of the Denny Middle School site, once the school’s torn down after its replacement is built on the Chief Sealth High School campus, and the fight over the two southeast West Seattle sites on the city’s “final four” list of possible misdemeanor-offender jail locations — read on:Read More
Quiet week for public meetings since it’s the end of the month (except for tomorrow night’s Design Review meeting on the Conner Homes Junction project) — but there’s an author event tonight, and we don’t get a lot of those on this side of the bay: Bill Press, radio host, is at Barnes and Noble in Westwood Village at 6:30 pm on behalf of his book Train Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution, and Not a Minute Too Soon. More West Seattle happenings for the days, weeks, and months ahead are on the WSB Events list (added about a dozen just last night).
We were just over at Westwood Village and noticed passersby squinting at those two big orange posters (photo above) in the window of Vatsana’s Thai Restaurant, so we had to check it out too: Liquor license suspended till 10 am Wednesday (five-day suspension, for “furnishing alcohol to a minor”; the restaurant’s regularly closed Sundays anyway, so no one was there tonight).
We’ve followed up from time to time on the aftermath of the February 26th Westwood incident in which two pit bulls attacked a man and his Chihuahua, and then were shot by police (original WSB report here; followup with police-report narrative here). One pit bull died that night; the other was seized by the Seattle Animal Shelter. During our followup calls, SAS executive director Don Jordan had told us the dogs’ owner faced citations and possibly a criminal charge (March 3 update here; April 10 update here). The second dog’s fate depended on what happened with those cases. Jordan just called WSB to let us know the case is closed because the owner agreed to have the second dog euthanized. “We wanted to make sure that dog was off the street,” Jordan said. The civil citations and possible criminal charge are not being pursued, according to Jordan, because of that agreement, and also because the victim did not want to press charges or even give a written statement. Jordan had told us previously that this owner had a history of trouble involving other dogs, not these; we asked, so does that mean any restrictions can be put on his right to own or license dogs in the future? Not in this case, he said, noting that even in cases where people are found guilty of crimes involving animals and judges decide to impose such restrictions, they can never be prohibited from ownership for a period longer than 2 years. “That can be frustrating for us,” he acknowledged.
For the first time in the months we’ve been covering the Denny Middle School/Chief Sealth High School combined-campus controversy/vote/aftermath, we sat in this afternoon on a meeting of the School Design Team, which includes reps from various constituencies with various types of ties to one or both schools. Today’s major items included the first look at a proposal for the exterior design of the new Denny on the Sealth campus, and Denny principal Jeff Clark didn’t mince words with his first reaction — that and more ahead:Read More
First, the remodeling — WSB’er The House sent that photo of a sign spotted at Westwood Village QFC. Now, the move: Marilyn at Murphy’s Furniture has confirmed her new location in Pioneer Square (as first reported in January, she’s leaving Avalon; as first reported last weekend, Cafe Revo‘s taking the space): 314 1st Ave. S., next to Elliott Bay Books, hoping for an early-June opening. This is her last weekend on Avalon and she’s having a sale. Next, the opening — Last night’s West Seattle Art Walk participants included a new business on the north edge of The Junction, The Body Bar, and we stopped in to find out more – even came away with another prize for the Garage Sale Day contests – read on:Read More
More reader reports from folks who want to warn other West Seattleites, just in case, including one lying doorknocker just spotted. Read on:Read More
Just in from Patrick the Sales Guy – the Trenton (north) entrance to Westwood Village is closed for asphalt work, so if you’re going to WV, you need to use the east or south entrances.
As the Denny-Sealth project (archived WSB coverage here) proceeds, the Westwood Neighborhood Council expects to be working closely with the district and the city on plans for the site where Denny Middle School will be demolished after its replacement is built next to Chief Sealth High School. Because of that, WNC president Steve Fischer has just put out the call for “someone who has drawing skills … (and can) translate ideas into visual concept presentations for open space and pedestrian amenities in the neighborhood. We’d like help in creating approximately three drawings that can help us communicate how important it is for the neighborhood to have open space for everyone who lives in and visits Westwood.” The required skills are further clarified as:
We really need someone who can help with some hand-drawing with pencil or pen. We don’t need technical plan level drawings, just conceptual drawings that are attractive and that can communicate some ideas and alternatives. An understanding of landscape/ architectural standards would be useful, but not necessary. As well, if someone wants to use a computer program to create some ideas, that would be fine too.
If you can help, or want to find out more, contact Susan, at csmclain@hotmail.com.
Two things about that photo of the south side of Barton, alongside Roxhill Park across from Westwood Village, are notable — what you see, and what you don’t see. What you do see: Shiny new “4-Hour Parking” signs, as promised to the Westwood Neighborhood Council and other activists (here’s our report from earlier this month; there also had been an update last month when we covered the West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting). What you don’t see, as a result of the new signs: The makeshift used-car-sales lot (and RV park) eyesore and safety risk that this stretch had been (note the empty space in our photo – we pulled over just past the Metro bus parking zone on the west edge of the block).
Tons going on today; much of it is in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup list, but not everything:
No idea what those City Light crews were up to along Fauntleroy just west of 35th, but we couldn’t resist a picture. Next, something else we happened onto – a line outside the Westwood Village post office, where a passport fair is under way:
Last but not least, a quick pic from the West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club Hi-Yu Fishing Derby at Seacrest this morning, as a participant gets help bagging the fish he caught:
(We have video too, which we’ll include in a later roundup, but more Saturday events to cover first!) EARLY SUNDAY UPDATE: Here’s the clip, as promised:
(Model of future Sealth/Denny shared campus, looking northward over it, with the new Denny building north of/behind the Sealth gym on the eastern half of the campus)
As promised, here’s the complete update on last night’s SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act)-mandated public meeting on the Denny-Sealth project, which turned out to have a further-reaching scope than you might have surmised by looking at advance notice of the meeting. Though there was a formal presentation halfway through — with the contingent of school-district staffers and project consultants/architects almost outnumbering the general-public attendees — the most interesting info was available on and along the easels in the Chief Sealth HS Commons during the first half of the meeting:Read More
Just back from 35th/Thistle (map), where two cars collided; both were badly damaged – the two people in one of them got out OK, the driver in the other had to be cut out by rescue crews and was rushed to the hospital. Avoid the area. Thank you, to the people who called and texted us, just as we heard the sirens and were starting to check into what was going on. This is the same intersection where a pedestrian was hit and hurt exactly two weeks ago. Sorry our night photography leaves something to be desired; for perspective’s sake, here’s a wider shot, with one damaged car at left, the other far right – this is looking northeast from the southwest corner of 35th/Thistle:
P.S. As of 10:04 pm, nearby resident Stephanie says the intersection has just reopened.
TONIGHT: 6:30 pm, Chief Sealth High School, the next public meeting regarding the Denny-Sealth construction project — as described by Westwood Neighborhood Council president Steve Fischer, “The School District has issued their Environmental Determination; the Appeal period closes shortly. Copies of the Environmental Checklist will be available for the community to review. For those who are interested, they should attend the meeting and see what the District is proposing.”
TOMORROW: The Seattle School Board agenda includes several items related to the Denny-Sealth project – somewhat technical but if you follow the links to the attached documents, there are a few more project-plan specifics to be learned.
Archived WSB coverage of Denny-Sealth can be found here.
Just got three messages about this in rapid succession: Shots fired and police searching in a Westwood neighborhood. (location map) Here’s one note:
Heard multiple rounds of gunshots interspersed with several people yelling outside. Called the police, who reported other calls had been received for same disturbance. Have yet to see any signs of the police- however can still hear some yelling. Curious if anyone has any details on exactly what is going on/happened- or if police responded.
That reader mentioned 17th/Cloverdale as the location; this next note has more details:
MANY gun shots were just fired in association with a house party at a notorious drug/party rental house. There are at least 5 police cars on the scene right now. 17th & Trenton. The house is (in the 8600 block of) 17th Ave SW. This is the 3rd police activity at the residence in the past year.
And here’s the third note received:
About 11:40 pm this evening there were about 12 shots fired. Directly after the shots were fired two cars sped north on 17th. Police responded right away. There were several police cars on our block investigating the scene. Just an FYI. It was rather frightening.
Monitoring the scanner now, will update if anything more comes in about this. (Likely unrelated but a WS police team has just been dispatched to a report of a “large group” fighting outside Morgan Junction Tully’s.)
On our way to tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting at the Southwest Precinct, we spotted that radar-powered speed sign along westbound Morgan, just west of 40th, where people barrel down the hill toward Fauntleroy/California (we only registered 7 mph because we had to slow down for the photo!). This was a timely sighting because most of the WSCSP meeting was about this type of solution to some of West Seattle’s traffic problems — the method the experts refer to as “traffic calming” — here’s some of what’s in store, and where:Read More
In the months preceding the Seattle School Board vote to tear down Denny Middle School and build its replacement on the Chief Sealth High School campus (archived coverage here), one big question was, “what would happen to the Denny site?” The Westwood Neighborhood Council is watching that especially closely, and the sketch you see above is courtesy of WNC president Steve Fischer; he got it from Robert Evans, who’s working with Seattle Public Schools on the Denny/Sealth project. Fischer explains: “The graphic, as it was described to me by Mr. Evans, shows a ‘tennis center,’ parking lot, and softball field where the current Denny Middle School is situated. Mr. Evans informed me that this was the graphic that was to be sent out with the SEPA determination for the project and only shows the worst case scenario in terms of impervious surface area. Mr. Evans informed me that they intend to still work with the neighborhood on the development of this site.” Reminder, the city Landmarks Preservation Board considers the landmark nominations for Denny and Sealth — submitted as part of the required process in this project — this Wednesday afternoon, 3:30 pm, 40th floor, Municipal Tower downtown. (More details here.)
We have been checking in periodically with Seattle Animal Shelter director Don Jordan to find out what was going to happen to the dog that survived the police shooting in Westwood on February 26, and to the owner of that dog and another that was killed after attacking a man and his Chihuahua. In early March, Jordan told us the owner faced more than $1,000 in fines from citations. Today, he says his investigator is almost done writing up a report recommending that the owner face a criminal charge, “negligent control of an animal.” As for the surviving dog, it’s still in Animal Shelter custody, and its future depends on what happens with the criminal-charge recommendation. If a charge is filed, the dog will remain with the shelter TFN as evidence. If the prosecutor decides not to charge the owner, Jordan says, the dog would likely be returned to the man, because there was no prior history of violations involving this dog (though the owner did have a history of violations with other dogs). We’ll keep checking to see what happens. Meantime, an update on this elusive dog:
That’s Kit the Akita, who’s been in the Lost/Found section of our Pets page for almost three weeks now, with a particularly heartwrenching story: He got away just a week after starting a new life following rescue from an abusive situation. He’s apparently been spotted around Westwood but is hard to catch, according to Lynn, who e-mailed with this update:
There was another attempt to catch Kit April 3rd by a woman who lives in the area … I hope many people are watching out for this boy and trying to catch him. He has been seen crossing busy roads and is very vulnerable out there, if he is still alive at this point. I spoke with the woman who lost him the other day and she has tried very hard to catch him and is very, very sad. Animal Control tried live trapping, but apparently didn’t have a tranquilizer gun; it looks likely they could have got him that way since they were near him for quite some time, according to what I was told.
As the Pets page post says, call (206) 518-1611 if you find or see this dog – not the number on his old tags, which were from the previous owner and hadn’t yet been changed..
Thanks to Westwood Neighborhood Council president Steve Fischer for sending word that as part of the process in the Denny Middle School rebuild/Chief Sealth High School renovations shared-campus project, Seattle Public Schools has submitted landmark nominations for Denny and Sealth. (This is a required part of the process because of the buildings’ age; before significant work, or teardown in the case of DMS, occurs, the city must determine whether they merit landmark designation.) The Landmarks Preservation Board will have a public hearing on both nominations during its meeting at 3:30 pm next Wednesday (40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown; other West Seattle items are on the agenda including approval of the Hiawatha Playfield project and Fauntleroy Church window work, since both involve landmarks). Also, there’s word of a SPS-sponsored public meeting April 22 at CSHS cafeteria, 6:30 pm, to review the “environmental checklist” for the Denny/Sealth project. Meantime, we were at Sealth today and noticed easels are up in the commons, with “dot voting” going on to prioritize 30 possible projects that could be funded with the money the school is slated to get beyond safety-related renovations. Last update — As we first reported a week ago, the legal challenge to the Denny/Sealth project is proceeding, though SPS confirms it has filed to have the complaint dismissed, because it “believes that the case is without merit.”
Everyone who’s been to Westwood Village and/or neighboring Roxhill Park has seen this many times, and often in much greater numbers – the lineup of “for sale” cars along Barton. It’s long been a neighborhood sore spot, not to mention a safety hazard, among other things. This morning, after the latest Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting, president Steven Fischer sends word of major progress – on the parking issue and on crosswalk concerns in the nearby area where a woman was hit and killed in February:Read More
Thanks to those who e-mailed and texted us about an outage in parts of east West Seattle – the City Light recording says the boundaries are Brandon to 97th, 8th to 26th, with more than 800 homes/businesses affected, no word on the cause. Heading out to find out more. 7:55 PM UPDATE: One e-mail and one comment says at least some of the power’s back on – we still have a team member driving the area to see if anyone’s still out. 8:40 PM UPDATE: Found a City Light crew (photo left) patroling Delridge but no signs of lingering outage.
Two Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports to share — as discussed elsewhere, primarily in the interest of all of us watching out for each other. First from Erik in Westwood:
My neighbor’s house just got vandalized. Their fence was tagged by graffiti vandals at 8:15 tonight at the corner of 16th and Trenton in plain view right across from a street lamp. I scared the vandals away (before I got their license plate! D’oh!) but called 911 and the police took a report and were circling the block. I think other neighbors should be aware of this, and I think it’s worth sharing the “tip” that I should have gotten the license number before scaring them away. Keep an eye out for a red Mazda or Toyota with three vandals out looking for property to destroy and property values to drop.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING: This one from Shannon may be related:
There was a lot of tagging going on behind our townhouses on 18th Ave SW near Barton. We didn’t see it happen and, surprisingly, our dogs didn’t bark but we saw flashing lights when the police officer arrived. The vandals tagged our fences and a van parked in the lot of the apartments across the alley with the “M13” gang sign. The neighbor who reported it said they were driving a white car. His daughter saw them and he ran outside. When he did run outside, they drove away quickly before he could get their plates.
Just wanted everyone to be on the lookout. The officer says this is a known gang sign but, for some reason he didn’t make very clear, he believed it was a fake… not that he had any evidence that it was a fake he just said he had a “feeling” it was a fake. Needless to say, that didn’t make any of us feel any better.
(back to the original Sunday night post) And from Dunsany:
Last night, someone broke the lock off my gas cap and siphoned my tank. We’re in Highland Park near 12th and Holden. Savages, I only had maybe 5 gallons in the tank. I hope it was worth it.
Remember, police stress that if you see someone or something suspicious NOW, call 911. If you want to report something that happened some time ago, the non-emergency number is 625-5011.
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