West Seattle, Washington
05 Friday
Thanks for the tips. Police are at the Longfellow Creek P-Patch, just east of Chief Sealth International High School, because a body was found there this morning. They describe the person as an “adult male” who is suspected to have died by suicide.
A van from the Medical Examiner’s Office has just arrived to take the body, which was found behind the P-Patch’s shed.
As always when we report on suicide, we want to remind you that there’s 24/7 help for anyone contemplating self-harm – 206-461-3222.(added) You also can reach a crisis counselor by texting 741741.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:57 AM: Good morning. No alerts or incidents right now.
ADVANCE ALERT: Saturday afternoon/evening, SW Alaska will be closed between California SW and 42nd SW for the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Tree Lighting (6 pm) and Night Market (3-7 pm).
Three weeks until Christmas Eve – so it’s time to start highlighting West Seattle displays! We appreciate your tips every year. First tip we received this season was from Jim, advising us to check out his brother Ken‘s display at 39th SW and SW Trenton in Fauntlee Hills. So we went by tonight.
Fauntlee Hills is known for more than a few extra-bright displays, but this one truly shines. No way to capture all its characters in one photo, so we recorded a video walk-by too:
Got lights we should feature, whether yours or someone else’s? Tell us where! All our contact options are here. Thank you!
(2018 WSB photo of project site)
Tonight’s “early community outreach” meeting for the revised 9201 Delridge Way SW project was devoid of community members.
20 minutes after the promoted 6 pm start time, it was still your editor and six members of the project team, led by Caron Architecture, at Jim Wiley Community Center in Greenbridge.
So we asked Caron CEO Radim Blazej and his team a few questions about the project, which, as first reported here in October, pivoted from self-storage to residential/retail mixed-use
They say the current plan is for 46 apartments – not microstudios, but “regular” apartments – and three live-work units, in a five-story building with about 2,000 square feet of retail space. Ideally that’ll go to an F&B (food/beverage) tenant, but that depends on how leasing goes. Though no offstreet car parking is required, they’re looking at about 20 underground spaces, plus spots for 50 bicycles. They are not proposing any zoning exceptions (“departures”). The project will have to go through the Southwest Design Review Board and is likely to start that process “in the first part of 2020.” The site has not been sold – same ownership is developing the new project, which doesn’t have an official name, so it’s going by the working title “Delridge Apartments.” Its residential entry will be off SW Bartpn.
SURVEY: Through Thursday night (December 5th), you can provide feedback via this survey.
WHAT’S NEXT: Watch for that first Design Review Board meeting next year.
7:06 PM: We’re getting some questions about Guardian One over North Delridge. They’re backing up SPD as they check out a suspicious car pulled over at Delridge/Andover.
7:20 PM: The scene cleared before we arrived.
7:41 PM: Guardian One made note of its assistance via Twitter:
Assisted @SeattlePD with a vehicle stop near Delridge and Andover. pic.twitter.com/M2xHdRXbGs
— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) December 4, 2019
(Photo courtesy Healthy Lands Project)
While next weekend jingles with many possibilities for holiday fun, there’s also an opportunity for giving that won’t cost you anything but a little time: Saturday will bring a volunteer planting party to Seola Pond (30th SW/SW 105th; map), in support of the long-running community-led work to restore it. The Healthy Lands Project invites you to “come and get hands-on experience planting native shrubs and trees and removing weeds with your neighbors to help make the green space a better place for people and nature.” It’s happening 10 am-1 pm Saturday (December 7th). You’ll get lunch and “warm beverages”; you’ll also get a free native plant to take home. RSVP here if you think you can help!
That security video just made public by Seattle Police shows the shooter in Monday’s South Delridge incident that sent a man to the hospital. Recognize him? Here’s another look:
SPD says the victim was shot during a robbery while he was “delivering an item sold on a secondhand goods website.” If you have a tip about the shooter, call the SPD Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535, or call 911.
Though the woman hit by a driver at 42nd/Oregon last Wednesday was initially described as in stable condition, she has died. That was initially reported by a commenter and we’ve confirmed it today; SDOT, which tracks collision data, says SPD notified them that the crash was fatal. That would be the 4th West Seattle pedestrian death this year. SDOT’s Vision Zero coordinator Brad Topol replied to a citizen inquiry and also forwarded the reply to WSB with this summary of the police report:
Based on a witness statement from a southbound driver (not involved in collision) a pedestrian was crossing midblock south of the 42nd Ave and Oregon intersection. The pedestrian was crossing from west to east and entered the roadway between two parked vehicles. The pedestrian was struck by a northbound driver traveling at a “reasonable speed” (20-25 mph estimated by witness).
This year’s previous three fatal incidents were all in July:
-July 26, Jefferson Square parking lot (victim was 93-year-old Dorothy Wright)
-July 15, Admiral Way near 57th (fatality confirmed via SDOT, though victim was never publicly identifie)
-July 3, SW Barton by Westwood Village (victim was 78-year-old Josefina Quimson)
So far as we can find in court records, only one of those incidents has to date resulted in a citation, the one in Jefferson Square, for “failure to yield right of way when backing up,” resulting in a $136 fine. The SW Barton driver was arrested for suspected DUI but to date has not been charged.
Two events of interest coming up for families with future high-school students:
WSHS PROSPECTIVE PARENT NIGHT: This Thursday (December 5th), 6:30-8 pm, West Seattle High School is hosting Prospective Parent Night. From the school newsletter Westside Weekly:
Meet in the theater to learn about course offerings from 6:30-7. Students will lead tours from 7 to 8. Finally, during the 7 to 8 hour, there will be a department fair where you can meet the department heads, review texts and participate in Q&A.
CSIHS PROSPECTIVE STUDENT NIGHT: 6-7 pm Thursday, December 12th, Chief Sealth International High School invites prospective students and their families to visit. Here’s the flyer with details, sent by the school:
This is a followup as well as a traffic alert – that crew is working on 26th SW between Roxbury and Barton right now, as part of investigative work previewed here last week. As explained in the notice featured in that preview, the crew is “drilling 6 geotechnical boreholes in the roadway” to learn more about the pavement failure that neighbors say shakes their homes when buses go by. Metro says new paving is expected as part of the RapidRide H Line conversion, though I-976 might affect funding availability. This work is expected to continue through tomorrow.
(Yellow-rumped Warbler, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
TALK ABOUT NEW PLAN FOR 9201 DELRIDGE: As we first reported in October, the self-storage plan for this site has been scrapped and now a mixed-use building is planned. Come talk with the project team at the “early community outreach for Design Review” meeting, 6 pm at the Jim Wiley Community Center in Greenbridge. (9800 8th SW)
FREE CLASS: Learn “hands-only CPR” and stroke awareness, 6 pm at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: 6:30 pm monthly meeting has a location change – “at Ounces Taproom & Beer Garden, for a social gathering instead of a regular meeting, Everyone welcome, including kids. Beanfish food truck is scheduled to be there, too.” (3809 Delridge Way SW)
TUESDAY TRIVIA: “West Seattle’s sassiest trivia,” 8:30 pm with Devon at Admiral Pub. 21+. (2306 California SW)
THERE’S MORE on our full calendar.
Family and friends will gather Friday to remember John J. Musso, and are sharing this remembrance with the community:
John J. Musso was born on March 23, 1919, in San Pablo, California and passed away on November 27, 2019 in Seattle at the age of 100.
John was the fifth child of Stefano and Dominica Musso. He grew up on a ranch in Richmond, California with his seven siblings, and moved to Seattle at the age of 18 to work for his cousin at the Oberto Sausage Company. He was the company’s third employee. Johnny worked there doing a variety of jobs: from hand tying salami and sausage, to becoming the plant manager.
He served in World War II as a gun crewman in heavy artillery and was honorably discharged. After the war, he returned to Seattle to work for Oberto Sausage Company, where he eventually retired at the age of 92. He met his wife of 51 years, Fay Campagnaro Musso, in West Seattle and married her on January 7, 1950. He was a beloved father to their three children: Gina, Lisa, and Donald Musso. Johnny loved his family above all else and supported them in every way. He, Fay, and their cousins Art and Dorothy Oberto began the annual Oberto Family Reunion 50 years ago to bring the family together and celebrate another year.
Johnny also loved playing and watching sports. Although he enjoyed supporting his grandchildren in everything they did, he especially enjoyed rooting for them as an avid fan at their sporting events. He was a fixture at every meet, match, and game in which they participated.
He is survived by his three children, Gina Musso (Joe James), Lisa Musso McCluskey (the late Brian McCluskey), and Donald Musso; his six grandchildren, Micole Wyman (Kelly), Cia Nipper (Brandon), Nicholas McCluskey (Lee), Bianca, Vincent, and Anthony McCluskey; his great-granddaughter, Scarlett Wyman; and his sisters, Bette Piatanida and Emma Arrington.
He was preceded in death, by his wife, Fay; his brothers, Dominic (Marta) and Steve (Helene) Musso; his sisters, Lucy (John) Giacoletto, Lena Brown, and Marie Hilbauch; his brothers- and sisters-in-law Mario (Betty), and Aldo (Ida) Campagnaro and brother in laws Ambrose Piatanida and Royal Arrington.
A rosary service will be held at Holy Rosary Church at 10:15 AM on Friday, December 6, 2019, with a funeral mass to follow at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Kennedy Catholic High School c/o the Development Office: 140 S. 140th St .Burien, WA 98168 or online at: https://www.kennedyhs.org/support-us/donate-today
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:58 AM: Good morning. Just dispatched, police are checking a report of a crash on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge by the 4th Avenue exit.
7:08 AM: SDOT camera shows police arriving at this scene near the gore point past the 4th exit. No injuries reported.
7:11 AM: And that scene has cleared.
(WSB photo, investigators at scene, September 2017)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Following an afternoon of closing arguments, the fate of 2 people accused in the deadly 2017 shooting of Edixon Velasquez is in the hands of the jury.
We were at the courthouse downtown this afternoon as jurors listened to the final pitches from the prosecution and defense lawyers for 23-year-old Anna Kasparova and 21-year-old Abel Linares-Montejo.
They are charged in the 25-year-old victim’s death outside his home in the 8100 block of 31st SW on September 19, 2017.
The three attorneys who presented closing arguments – prosecutor Wyman Yip, Kasparova defense lawyer Suzanne Pickering, and Linares-Montejo defense lawyer Kris Shaw – offered differing scenarios.
Two project notes:
6318 41ST SW SITE TOUR: Another “early Design Review outreach” meeting – this time, you’re invited to a site tour at 6318 41st SW, 10 am Saturday, December 14th. This is a HALA-upzoned site, where a house is proposed for replacement with a 4-story, 6-unit townhouse building and 3 parking spaces. Project-team members will be there to answer questions and talk about the plan, including the architects from MNMuM Studio, who provided the early-stage rendering above.
5616 CALIFORNIA SW APPROVAL: From today’s Land Use Information Bulletin, land-use approval for this project planned to replace a house with three 3-story townhouse buildings totaling 8 units, as reported here back in August.
(Rendering by Cone Architecture)
One change: The project (just south of C & P Coffee [WSB spomspr]) now has 5 offstreet parking spaces, one more than previously reported. Today’s notice (see it here) opens a window for appeals until December 16th.
West Seattle Crime Watch miscellany tonight:
TREE THIEF: Got a call this evening from a Genesee Hill resident whose out-of-town visitors had a rude surprise. They bought a tree to take to Olympia and left it tied atop their car in the driveway overnight. This morning … no tree. Their saddened host wanted to warn everyone about this Grinchy theft.
TWO NOTES: We received a LOT of tips/questions about a full-code SPD response headed northbound around 6 pm. First – we wanted to thank everyone for the tips (text/voice 206-293-6302 any time) as that’s often how we get first word of something. But this time, we heard the dispatch, and as we told everyone who messaged us – it was called in as a possible burglary, west of The Junction, but turned out to be a a false alarm…. Right after that, an incident in The Junction was NOT a false alarm – a shoplifting suspect was caught and arrested near Junction TrueValue at 44th/Edmunds. No other details.
(WSB photo from 2018 Night Market)
This time of year, it’s never too soon to start planning your next weekend. And this one is big. Two major reasons to be in The Junction both days (in addition to holiday shopping with your local merchants):
SATURDAY – TREE LIGHTING AND NIGHT MARKET: It’s more than a tree lighting – it’s an afternoon/evening full of music and shopping! The Hometown Holidays Night Market starts at 3 pm in the street on SW Alaska by Junction Plaza Park (42nd SW/SW Alaska), where this slate of music-and-more leads up to the 6 pm tree lighting. Here’s the updated schedue:
3:45 pm – Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor)musicians start playing in the market,then walk on stage
Welcome: West Seattle Junction Association’s Lora Radford
Emcee: Brent Amaker
4:20 pm: Endolyne Children’s Choir
4:45 pm: School of Rock West Seattle
5:15 pm: The Not-Its
5:55 pm: Santa Claus and Jack Menashe take the stage
6:00 pm: Lighting the tree
6:05 pm: Ceremony ends but Night Market continues until 7 pm
SUNDAY – COCOA AND COAT DRIVE: During the Farmers’Market, bring coats, hats, scarves, gloves (gently used) to warm up neighbors in need!
10 am-2 pm Sunday, look for the tent and bins at the south end of the Farmers’ Market (California/Alaska), and along with the warm glow of knowing you’ve done something good, enjoy hot cocoa – with whipped cream and sprinkles available.
Need to catch up on West Seattle’s next big road project, which is also a transit project? Tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at 2 pm, the City Council Sustainability and Transportation Committee gets a briefing on the Delridge RapidRide H Line project, which also includes repaving and other road work, as well as the conversion of Metro Route 120 to the H Line. Above is the slide deck that’ll be used in the briefing; it projects that construction will start in the second or third quarter next year. The H Line is expected to launch in fall 2021. The 90 percent design milestone was announced a month ago; see our November report here.
2:19 PM: Police are investigating a shooting in the 9000 block of 18th SW. They report “one male victim injured.” More as we get it.
2:34 PM: Police tell us at the scene that the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening. The shooting was the result of a robbery somewhere nearby – the victim made it to a construction site and called for help.
3:31 PM: Still no one in custody. No description made public, either.
3:55 PM: A bit more info from SPD: They say the victim is 24 years old and was shot while “delivering an item sold on a secondhand goods website.”
In West Seattle Crime Watch today, two robbery cases from the long weekend:
JUNCTION STREET ROBBERY: Thanks to the tipster who let us know about this incident early Thursday morning. We requested and obtained the report today. It happened around 12:30 am; the victim told police she had used the Chase ATM at California/Oregon and then walked into the alley, where two people approached her. One pointed a “black semi-automatic” handgun at her while the other went through her pockets. They took her phone, car and house keys, and wallet. Description: “about 27 and 29 years old … the male who pointed a gun at her was mixed race – White and Black – and about 5’8 … the male who was with him may have had a hoodie on.” Police searched but did not find the robbers. The victim called later to add one detail: One of the robbers had hit her in the face.
LUCKY 5 ROBBERY FOLLOWUP: We reported briefly last night on the holdup at the Lucky 5 gas station/mini-mart at 35th/Henderson. Today we requested and obtained the report, which has additional details: The robbers were described in the report as “four black males … wearing dark clothing, gloves and masks … At least two of the males were wearing backpacks … teens-20s, 5’7-5’9″.” They assaulted the person working in the store and knocked down displays, scattering merchandise on the floor. One held the worker at gunpoint and demanded that he open the cash drawer; the robbers also started loading their backpacks with cigarettes. One took a necklace from the person on duty, a lifelong keepsake described as gold, with “rectangular chain links, and a thin tiger pendant.” Surveillance video from outside the store shows their getaway vehicle was a “silver four-door sedan” with tinted windows.
If you’ve passed by the “Stone House” at 1123 Harbor SW lately, the changes to its facade might have caught your eye – they caught ours. More than nine months have passed since we first reported that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society hoped to save the well-known stone-studded cottage by moving it to a new site, since the one where it’s stood for 90 years had been sold for redevelopment. City records indicate the site’s new owners are continuing to move ahead with their plan, which calls for the demolition of structures on three adjacent lots, but clearly states that the Stone House is to be relocated per agreement with SWSHS. The agreement on file gives SWSHS until the end of the year to move the house off the site. We asked local entrepreneur and preservationist John Bennett, who’s been involved with the plan, about its status. He tells WSB, “We are scouting a location and working out the logistics of physically moving a 90-year-old stone house. This project is being taken on by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society in their ongoing efforts to preserve the history of our great city. … This is a complicated project, but we are determined to save this amazing piece of West Seattle history.”
As for what’s now being displayed on the facade, Bennett explains, “The art on the front of the house is a quick facelift to show everyone that it has not been forgotten.”
BACKSTORY: This 2002 seattlepi.com story has it.
(Varied Thrush, photographed by Mark Ahlness, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LINCOLN PARK WALK: 10 am with Sound Steps. Meet in the center of the north parking lot. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
AGING WELL: Talk about it in a facilitated 1 pm group at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (4217 SW Oregon)
WATERCOLOR CLASS: Taught by Jennifer Carrasco at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6 pm. Contact the artist for enrollment info. (5612 California SW)
PLAYGROUND MEETING: 6:30 pm at Delridge Community Center, see the proposed design for changes at the Cottage Grove playground. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
3 TRIVIA/QUIZ NIGHTS: Your Monday night options in West Seattle:
*Best of Hands Barrelhouse (7500 35th SW), 7 pm, $2/person, 21+
*The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), 7:30 pm, free, all ages
*Parliament Tavern (4210 SW Oregon), 8 pm, $2/person, 21+
LOOK AHEAD ... via the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and year-round Event Calendar!
Another reason to think spring! West Seattle Little League has announced that it’s signup time:
Welcome to the 2020 WSLL Spring Season! Registration is now open!
We are excited to have new families join and existing families return. Little League players can be girls & boys between the ages 4-12. The season runs from May – June & kids get a lot of playing time (best value in sports)!
Check out westseattlelittleleague.com for more information including scholarship opportunities. Get in the game!
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