West Seattle, Washington
30 Thursday
This is a big time of year for many high-school seniors – decisions about college. For three West Seattle High School seniors, that brought a ceremony on Thursday afternoon:
Three star student-athletes at WSHS gathered with their coaches, family, and friends for a “Signing Day” event. From left above are Lydia Giomi, who’ll play basketball at the University of Oregon, with Coach Sonya Elliott; Morgan McCullough, who’ll play baseball at Oregon, with Coach Velko Vitalich; and Gabby Wenn, who’ll play softball at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, with Coach Trevor Leopold, who’s also WSHS’s athletic director. It was a big photo-op moment for proud parents and other supporters:
Each coach offered words of tribute.
(WSB photo from last February)
Of Giomi, who was on Coach Elliott’s state-tournament team last school year (after which the coach left WSHS): How much she meant to her teammates each year, and how she thanked the coach after each practice.
(Photo by Caryn Johnson, from last April)
Of McCullough, who was on the USA Baseball 18U national team that won a world title in September, Coach Vitalich said he was proud of that and amazed by how many schools called to ask about him.
(WSB photo from last May)
Of Wenn, a member of Coach Leopold’s state-tournament team last spring, he noted how much her pitching intimidated other teams, and recalled her perfect game. (At Villanova, as at WSHS, she’ll be a Wildcat.)
These three have one last high-school season ahead – so you’ll hear more about them in the months to come.
Over the course of tonight’s West Seattle open house for the city’s Comprehensive Plan update process – aka “Seattle 2035” – about sixty people stopped by, according to city reps. That leaves about 99,940 West Seattleites who didn’t. Maybe you’ve already commented on how you think the city should shape growth over the next 20 years. If you haven’t, you still have time – until November 20th, one week from tomorrow. Here’s what you’ll want to look at first:
*Open-house presentation slide deck
*Online illustrated doc explaining the process
*Overview document including the four options the city is suggesting for how growth could happen – scroll all the way to the end to review “Alternative 1: Continue Current Trends,” “Alternative 2: Guide growth to Urban Centers” (The Junction is our area’s Urban Center), “Alternative 3: Guide growth to Urban Villages near Light Rail,” and “Alternative 4: Guide growth to Urban Villages near Transit.”
*The full 394-page document is here
Last but not least, here’s how to comment.
At right is a state photo of 48-year-old Benjamin Laigo III, taken three days before his release from Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in southeastern Washington two and a half weeks ago. Today, county prosecutors charged him with first-degree robbery and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. They say he held up a West Seattle woman at 37th and Alaska (as reported here on Sunday, after her husband e-mailed us about the crime) and then took off in a stolen car, with police pursuing before long, until he crashed the car on Airport Way.
As reported here on Tuesday, Laigo has a lengthy record. He went to prison in 2006, sentenced to 14 years in connection with multiple robberies, including a holdup on Valentine’s Day 2006 at the Wells Fargo Bank in The Admiral District. Documents from the sentencing that year say he made off with more than $11,000. The 2006 robberies followed his release from prison – how closely, we don’t know – after 10 years in prison for five robbery convictions in 1996. Prosecutors say that because of those cases, this one will be his “third strike” if convicted, and that’s why they asked the judge to set bail at half a million dollars. A deputy prosecutor wrote in today’s documents, “The defendant’s criminal history is horrendous and shows a 20-year pattern of violent offenses following long periods of incarceration.” The charging papers say the woman Laigo is accused of robbing in West Seattle was knocked to the ground and was bleeding from her head and hands when people rushed to help her after he stole her purse and took off. Witnesses told police they saw the robber holding a black handgun.
The white Fiat witnesses say they saw the robber jump into was spotted on the eastbound bridge by an SPD officer who followed it onto northbound I-5, waiting for backup before activating lights and sirens. The car checked as having been stolen in an armed carjacking on lower Queen Anne Hill the night before. Officers started trying to stop it when the car exited at James Street downtown; they say it was being driven erratically for a few blocks before getting back onto I-5, southbound this time, going up to 75 mph in light rain, traveling about three miles until getting off the freeway at Airport Way, and eventually going the wrong way onto a ramp to get back onto I-5, stopping after crashing into another car whose driver was hurt, as was Laigo, who police say they found alone in the Fiat. He had his Department of Corrections ID card on him in the car. Retracing the path of the pursuit, police found the West Seattle robbery victim’s purse near 5th and Lander.
Laigo is not charged yet in connection with the carjacking. Its victim told police that the man who robbed her pointed a black handgun at her and said, “I need your car, look normal, no one will help me.” He took her keys and asked her how to use the key remote, but warned her not to look at him. Laigo is due back in court for arraignment – to answer the charges – the day before Thanksgiving.
P.S. We wondered while writing the previous story about the “time off for good behavior” law that apparently is what enabled Laigo to serve roughly two-thirds of his previous terms for multiple robberies. We found details of the policy here.
West Seattle has no state-licensed marijuana stores yet, but when it does, these new rules might govern where they can go. Here’s the announcement today from the mayor’s office:
Mayor Ed Murray today proposed new rules to accommodate the expected increased number of state licensed retail marijuana stores in Seattle. The proposal would adjust land use rules to allow the siting of state-licensed stores more equitably and fairly throughout Seattle while also limiting the possibility of clustering retail stores on a single city block.
Until 7 pm, the West Seattle Food Bank would love to see you at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) at 41st SW and SW Alaska in The Junction, where they’re collecting donated frozen turkeys and cash/check donations ($15 will buy a turkey – prices are up this year). You probably recognize Blitz, the Seahawks’ mascot, in the photo – as noted in our previews, he was there for photo ops for the first hour (HomeStreet is the official bank of the Seahawks). If you can’t get to HomeStreet tonight, stay tuned for other WS Food Bank donation opportunities as Thanksgiving approaches – just two weeks from today.
The state is circulating an update on the Highway 99 tunnel project this afternoon, saying some components are being tested, and the contractor is still working toward restarting tunneling right before Christmas:
Seattle Tunnel Partners and manufacturer Hitachi Zosen have begun testing components of the SR 99 tunneling machine as they prepare to resume mining. A few initial tests were performed last week, and several others are slated to occur in the coming weeks.
The newest vote count is just in from King County Elections, nine days after the election, and the City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) race now has Shannon Braddock, who’s led since Election Night, 18 votes ahead of Lisa Herbold:
Shannon Braddock – 12,025 – 49.72%
Lisa Herbold – 12,007 – 49.64%
Braddock’s lead was six votes as of the previous count on Tuesday. Our math shows 1,078 more District 1 ballots were in today’s count, with fewer than 1,000 countable ballots remaining – the full-results list says 26,819 ballots have been counted, out of approximately 27,600 countable ballots received from District 1 voters (with about 400 more deemed not ready to count). Next results by 4:30 pm tomorrow.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Voting past, present, and future was what last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting at the The Hall at Fauntleroy was all about.
The present? Some actual voting happened – a presidential straw poll (Democratic, obviously). The results showed a majority of those still in attendance by this stage of the meeting were “Feeling the Bern”:
Bernie Sanders, 39 votes
Hillary Clinton, 26 votes
Undecided, 4 votes
Martin O’Malley, 2 votes
And this segued into future voting, as the organization is already starting work on getting ready for next year’s caucuses. Ted Barker, first vice chair (in photo above with chair Marcee Stone-Vekich), is heading the committee that will choose locations, and said they’re hoping to finalize those by next month.
Now, to the past voting – election recaps, and victory speeches. Here’s our video, starting with King County Executive Dow Constantine:
1:11 PM: Just in from SDOT:
Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation have been installing new, upgraded traffic cameras on the West Seattle Bridge and Spokane Street Viaduct between Southwest Avalon Way and I-5 and expect to complete the work this Saturday. Drivers can expect rolling lane closures both in eastbound and westbound lanes on Saturday from 5 a.m. until the work is completed, now estimated by midafternoon.
Once installed, the upgraded cameras will then need to be connected to the internet. Traffic engineers expect to have them up and operating by the middle of next week.
The public will be able to access both still and streaming images from the new cameras once they are operating. Links to the views will be available on SDOT’s Travelers Information web page.
We’re checking with SDOT on whether these are just replacement cameras or additions to the current bridge views (which you can see on the WSB Traffic page, when they’re working).
1:21 PM UPDATE: SDOT spokesperson Marybeth Turner replies that these are replacements for current cameras, not new views.
A local restaurant has closed suddenly, blaming a rent increase. Here’s the photo texted by a reader:
The Ripple Café was in the small multi-business building on 35th SW just south of SW Henderson, also home to West Seattle Fish House and Stuffed Cakes. It hadn’t even been open for six months. The King County Assessor‘s records show that the 86-year-old building changed hands this year for the first time in 19 years, sold to WD Group LLC in June for $600,000. While that LLC has a Seattle mailing address, one of its managers lists an address in San Francisco; we’re attempting to contact the owners for comment, and have also messaged the Ripple Café’s proprietor. The building recently underwent some external renovations; the site is zoned for up to four stories of potential mixed-use development, but a check of the online files shows no proposals on the record so far.
In case you’re wondering about the building’s other tenants, we went over a short time ago to verify the closure and while there, stopped in to check with Stuffed Cakes proprietor Donna Lawson. She confirms the change in landlords and a rent increase – which she expected, given the sale – but says her business is doing well and she’s staying. (She also mentioned that the San Francisco owner grew up in Seattle, so does have local ties.)
(Tree near Madison Middle School, photographed by Don Brubeck)
This really is a big day/night. These are JUST the biggest events – see our calendar for many more that might interest you!
GET YOUR PIC WITH BLITZ @ EARLY TURKEY-DONATION DRIVE: Two birds – a Seahawk and a turkey – in one place, HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Bring a frozen turkey and/or $15 (the cost of turkeys is up this year!) for the West Seattle Food Bank, 4-7 pm. If you’re there 4-5 pm, you can take a pic with Seahawks mascot Blitz. (41st SW & SW Alaska)
WHAT SHOULD THE PORT’S ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW INCLUDE? Now that the Port of Seattle‘s doing an environmental review of its Terminal 5 modernization project in West Seattle, it’s required to find out what you want to see studied. 5:30-8:30 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, tonight is the “scoping” meeting, to help determine the review’s scope. We asked the port for the meeting format:
Open House with stations: 5:30 – 6:00 pm
Presentation: 6:00 – 6:30 pm
Q&A (outside of comments) 6:30 – 6:45 pm
Public Comment: 6:45 – 8:00 pm – could go later if needed
Resume Open House: 8:00 – 8:30 pm
You can study up at T5EIS.publicmeeting.info, which continues its “online open house” until November 23rd. Also see what was discussed at this week’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting. (9131 California SW)
SENIOR CENTER BOARD: 5:30 pm, the Senior Center Board of Directors meets at the center in the Sisson Building, and we’re told the agenda includes a discussion of the center’s future. (California SW & SW Oregon)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE IN 20 YEARS? Big discussions around the city laid the foundation for where things are now, whether you think the city’s going in the right direction or not – neighborhood plans, urban villages, etc. all came about because of meetings two decades ago, so this is the time to have your say, as the city looks to update its Comprehensive Plan. Tonight’s West Seattle-specific meeting is at the Sisson Building/Senior Center, 6 pm, with a presentation at 6:30 pm. Get prepared by checking out 2035.seattle.gov. (California SW & SW Oregon)
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: Early holiday shopping! Here’s the map/venue list:
(Click image to see larger version of the map/venue list)
Preview artists and venues at wsartwalk.com. 6-9 pm, all over West Seattle. (Also see our full calendar for some of tonight’s spotlighted events.)
OPENING NIGHT FOR WSHS STUDENT PRODUCTION: “The Dead Guy,” presented by West Seattle High School‘s Drama Club, 7:30 pm at the WSHS Theater. Info in our calendar listing. (3000 California SW)
Photographer Mark Wangerin has kindly shared dozens of West Seattle wildlife photos here again this year, often beautiful bird photos in which he invests an amazing amount of time and talent – you don’t just walk up to a spot in a park, see a bird on a branch, snap a photo, and walk away; sometimes it’s an hours-long stakeout. And again this year, he’s donated photos for the West Seattle Wildlife Calendar that’s being sold as a benefit for environmental programs at Chief Sealth International High School, where he taught for a decade. The printing run was expanded this year but the $14.99 calendars are still going fast; here’s how to get one, including a special event tonight:
*You can buy yours from Sealth students who will be at CAPERS in The Junction during tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk, 6-9 pm (4525 California SW).
*They’re also on sale while supplies last during regular business hours at West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy, WSB sponsor); Emerald Water Anglers (42nd/Oregon, WSB sponsor); J.F. Henry (4445 California SW); and West Seattle Nursery (California/Brandon).
*If you know a Sealth 9th grader, ask about a calendar. If not, e-mail nczeichner@seattleschools.org.
*Last but by no means least, a few remain available for online purchase at markhousepublishing.com.
(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:04 AM: While the weather’s fairly calm now, if the alerts are accurate, it could be a different situation when you head home this afternoon/evening, so be prepared for wind and rain. One alert for tonight and the evenings ahead:
NIGHTTIME TRAFFIC ALERT: From the project team for The Whittaker (Fauntleroy/Alaska/40th/Edmunds):
We will be working on the Edmunds Street Crossing along Fauntleroy Way starting (tonight). During the night time work on Edmunds, 40th to Fauntleroy will be closed. Once the time is up for each night, then it will be plated for traffic during the day. This work is anticipated to take about 1 week and should be completed by Friday 11/20 next week weather permitting. There will likely be some additional restoration to do after next Friday, but that would be on the sidewalks, and not in the street.
This is expected to last approximately 7-10 pm nightly.
8:30 AM: Still a quiet commute in/from West Seattle.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
The WSBeat is back from hiatus. These are summaries written from recent incident reports filed by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have NOT already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports; some are not crimes – police deal with many crisis cases – but might at least answer a lingering question such as “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” among other places …
*Officers driving near 30th and SW Hinds on October 28th got a “ping” on their car computer, indicating that a vehicle they had driven past was reported stolen — in this case, from Portland. They spoke with a man in a nearby home who claimed he had bought the car off Craigslist but couldn’t provide proof of ownership. Because he was wanted on a Seattle warrant for residential burglary, he was arrested and booked into King County Jail. The car was impounded.
*The same day, a female driver pulled over on Harbor Avenue to photograph the fall foliage. A man walking along the trail took advantage of the opportunity to approach the car and try to open the locked passenger door several times. She yelled at him and he walked off. The woman reported no injury and said that the suspect seemed “high” on something.
Five more summaries ahead:
Three ongoing concerns are in our toplines from Tuesday night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting:
Make sure everything you need to charge is charged by tomorrow afternoon – the National Weather Service has a “wind advisory” alert for 4 pm Thursday through 4 pm Friday. Right now, that means winds are likely out of the south, 20-35 mph sustained, gusts up to 45 mph. It’s going to be wet, too, with the NWS saying up to two inches of rain is likely between Thursday and Saturday in the lowlands.
A stirring Veterans Day ceremony this afternoon at Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle: A “pinning ceremony” for more than two dozen veterans who live at The Mount. They were recognized, one last time, for their service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and got the chance to tell their stories. Among them, 92-year-old Donald Hill, in our photo below with son Dave, who introduced him:
According to a Mount spokesperson, Hill “decoded Nazi messages off the cliffs of Dover and landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day shortly after the first troops landed. Hill continued to decode messages as he and his fellow soldiers made their way through France, Belgium and Germany.” He was featured in this Seattle Times story earlier this week. This afternoon’s ceremony was in the chapel at The Mount; elsewhere in the building, a bulletin board is honoring those who have served:
The “We Honor Veterans” program is part of Providence Hospice of Seattle, which is caring for some of the veterans who participated in today’s ceremony – find out more about the program, and the veterans, here.
5:16 PM: Seattle Fire is headed for the 6500 block of 31st SW in High Point [map] for a possible house fire.
5:19 PM: Fire units on scene confirm it’s a problem in the kitchen, not a fire, so most of the response is being canceled.
(John & Frances Smersh @ Click’s 11th anniversary celebration. Photo by Eliott Peacock)
The proprietors of Click! Design That Fits, longtime independent West Seattle business (and longtime WSB sponsor), have just gone public with some personal news, and friends and family have at the same time come up with a way to support them.
Here’s what’s happening: Frances Smersh, who has run Click! with husband John Smersh for 11 years, has been diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Frances is only 48.
As the e-mail to Click!’s mailing list today – headed “Frances, John, and Alzheimer’s” – explains, “While the timeline is uncertain, Early Onset Alzheimer’s can move quickly, and what we do know is that the next twelve months will be the best Frances and John can expect to have together. Essentially, this next year will be their best year.” That’s what Frances’s doctor told them this fall, a few months after the initial diagnosis. Alzheimer’s remains an incurable disease, no matter what the patient’s age.
The store will stay in business. But Frances and John hope to spend some extra time together during that “best year.” John says, “I intend to continue working, but hopefully in a capacity that allows me to keep myself healthy and able to be her primary caregiver. Frances has already become less involved in the business, meaning I’ve had to pick up more, when I really feel like we should be handing responsibility off to a manager so that we can have time together, while it lasts. I know there will be a time when I don’t have her any more …”
So, as the announcement adds, “Friends and family have started a fundraiser to raise money to help with medical costs and to allow them to step away from Click! for a while, enjoy their life, and figure out what’s next.” That page is on youcaring.com.
Frances is an artist whose work has long been part of the Click! offerings, including jewelry, and she also paints – she is this month’s highlighted artist and will be showing and selling her newest work during tomorrow night’s West Seattle Art Walk, 6-9 pm. The monthly Art Walk has always been a meaningful event for Click! – John has long led the committee that organizes it, part of their community involvement beyond the all-encompassing work of running an independent local business that supports local artists and other creators.
P.S. If you are interested in helping, but not online, please send postal mail to John at the store, 4540 California SW, Seattle 98116.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with an investigation under way right now:
BROKEN WINDOWS AT JUNCTION BANK: Thanks to the person who texted us about this. Though the bank is closed for the Veterans Day holiday, there’s a lot of activity at the West Seattle Junction Wells Fargo right now because of apparent vandalism.
Windows were broken on the south side of the bank. No word yet exactly when it happened, but police were called to the branch this afternoon, and WF employees are there now as well as a crew to fix the window. They are trying to figure out what the windows were broken with, but police say they do not believe it was gunfire.
MAIL THEFT, REPORT #1: From a Gatewood resident: “Just wanted to email you about our locked mailbox being broken into and our mail stolen. We’re on the 4000 block of SW Myrtle St., and we’ve already reported it to the police and the Postal Inspector.” That came in Tuesday afternoon, as did the next note from a few miles south:
MAIL THEFT, REPORT #2: From an Arbor Heights resident: “Just found a bunch of mail strewn along SW 102nd St., which I returned to the proper address.”
Thanks to the readers who have texted about an incident blocking the intersection at 20th and Henderson. It was listed as a medic response on the Seattle Fire 911 log; SFD tells us it’s a crash involving a bicycle rider. We’re headed to the scene to try to find out more.
Just went through The Junction and the closed (“FYI”) sign is off the door at Chipotle Mexican Grill in The Junction, one day after the chain said it was reopening its 43 Washington and Oregon restaurants. The chain voluntarily closed them after a rash of E. coli illnesses; most, including the two-month-old Chipotle here, were closed for 11 full days, going back to Halloween. The 30 people who got sick in this state reported eating at five Chipotles, including two in Seattle, but the West Seattle store was not among them. So far, tests still haven’t traced where the bacteria came from. Here’s all the state info about the outbreak; here’s all the info from Chipotle.
(Recent Terminal 5 photo by Long Bach Nguyen, showing two ships from the Shell drilling fleet, Tor Viking and Harvey Explorer)
The Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 hasn’t been entirely idle since its official closure in July of last year, but the Shell ships are much smaller than what the port expects to see after its planned “modernization” program.
The original modernization plan did not include a full environmental-impact review, you might recall, but area residents pushed for one, and the port finally announced last month that it’s going to get one done because of the scale of the potential tenants it’s talking with.
Here’s where you come in: Tomorrow night, the port invites you to a meeting to focus on the scope of the environmental-impact review. And those concerned West Seattleites are hoping to have your help in shaping it.
One of them, Jim Wojciechowski, was at last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting to make one more pitch for participation.
“Public comment is what’s going to keep the momentum going” for a project responsive to West Seattleites’ concerns, he said. Neighbors are trying to “mitigate the damages,” said Wojciechowski – noise, traffic, and air pollution are top issues. So this is the time when the port will “scope” to see what the Environmental Impact Statement should include.
Wojciechowski stressed that “it’s the public input that’s going to determine” what happens as the port uses a consultant to prepare the EIS. “They’re bringing in big ships … and they’ll be bringing in smaller ships too. They’re sitting there running their engines while they’re there for a few days,” and that’s why neighbors are “pushing for shore power.” Every major port on the West Coast is already implementing or planning for shore power, according to Wojciechowski.
He also pointed out that since Terminal 5 closed more than a year ago, it’s generating no truck traffic right now, and “everyone’s complacent.” Meantime, the potential for train “quiet zones” is something that appeals to neighbors – but it would be costly. Finally, he reminded attendees that the port is holding an “online open house” right now. As ANA president David Whiting reiterated, it’s collecting comments on what the EIS should study – what potential impacts the project might have – not comments on whether or not the modernization project should happen.
Before the meeting, we had asked port spokesperson Peter McGraw about the format of Thursday night’s meeting (5:30 pm-8:30 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California SW). Here’s what he provided:
Open House with stations: 5:30 – 6:00 pm
Presentation: 6:00 – 6:30 pm
Q&A (outside of comments) 6:30 – 6:45 pm
Public Comment: 6:45 – 8:00 pm – could go later if needed
Resume Open House: 8:00 – 8:30 pm
Again, the port’s official information on the process, including tomorrow night’s meeting, is here.
P.S. Separate from the official port process, T-5 neighbors also have a new online petition.
P.P.S. Our second report on the ANA meeting, on an unrelated but even more impassioned topic, is still in the works.
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