West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
Today we’re welcoming a new West Seattle Blog sponsor, Equilibrium Fitness in South Admiral, offering a deal via this WSB coupon. Here’s what proprietors Dominick Viscardi and Thomas Alexander would like you to know about their business:
When you first come to Equilibrium Fitness, you’ll get a total evaluation. It can – but doesn have to – include an orthopedic check, and a general once-over. You’ll be asked questions including what your goals are and what medical history you have, and Equilibrium Fitness can create and adjust a workout program from there. They will be able to tailor your workout so it doesn’t stress out your system – they will see what kind of load your body can handle. The goal is to help you become more fit – not to “go for the burn” as is the case with some trainers and regimes, which can happen if they don’t do what Equilibrium Fitness does – get to know you and your overall fitness condition.
They will help you attain realistic goals based on their interaction with you. Have a past injury, an area of your body you want to make sure doesn’t get re-injured or overly stressed? Equilibrium Fitness will work to make sure it’s protected, as you work on getting more fit. They also offer massage therapy. And Dominick is C.H.E.K.-certified.
Use this coupon for 30 days of unlimited classes when you sign up for monthly membership at Equilibrium Fitness, a member of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, is at 3270 California SW, online at eqfitness.net, and on Facebook here.
We thank Equilibrium Fitness for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; see our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
In case you missed it – our Friday mention of those palm trees, just planted at Alki Beach Park (hat tip again to Connie), were the most-discussed WSB story of the weekend. We promised to follow up today with Seattle Parks, whose Joelle Hammerstad responded, first checking out the comments and then putting together this Q/A:
Q: Why are there palm trees at Alki?
A: The palm trees planted last week are part of a larger project to improve and beautify the landscape along Alki Beach. For the past several years, Parks landscape architects and plant horticulturists have been working to add interest to the landscape along Alki. Among the many projects undertaken include planting sea grass, arranging interesting and attractive and driftwood along the beach and adding an element of beach-y whimsy with the addition of palm trees in this location.
Q: How many trees are there?
A: There are 9 palm trees located in this landscaping area. The two most recent trees planted were by far the most mature. There are seven smaller palm trees grouped with the two larger ones. The addition of these last two trees completes the landscaping plan for this area of the beach.
Q: How much did the trees cost?
A: The trees were free. L & B Nursery in North Seattle donated the trees to Seattle Parks and Recreation. We received the donation last year, but only put them in the ground recently. After receiving the donation, we allowed their root system to mature a bit more before planting them. Mature palm trees are sold for around $125 a foot. We estimate that the donation for these trees is between $2,500 and $3,000.
Q: These trees are not native to the Pacific Northwest. Why did Seattle Parks and Recreation plant them?
A: These trees are native to China. They are a temperate species called Windmill Palm trees, and come from a region of China that gets colder than Seattle. Seattle Parks frequently plants non-native species in Seattle’s parks. When park visitors encounter a flowering tree in Seattle’s parks, they are usually seeing a non-native species. These include flowering cherry trees and dogwood trees, but also non-native ornamental trees, such as Japanese Maples. Nearly all the flowering annuals that bring bright colors to flower beds in the summer are non-native.
Q: The trees will impair the view.
A: Palm trees have an inherently small canopy. As they get more mature, they simply get taller. Their small canopy will grow higher and higher and impinge less and less on views. They will reach a height of about 35 feet.
The palms in our photo are near Alki’s 53rd Street Pump Station.
That image from Gatewood photographer/pilot Long B. Nguyen captures in-the-works and relatively-new apartment projects in The Triangle area – in the foreground, the former “Hole,” now Spruce, which you might have noticed has risen above street level; in the background, newer projects including Link, which opened in 2011, and at the top-center of the photo, Nova (WSB sponsor), which started leasing in 2012. Those represent just a fraction of the 3,000+ apartments (by our ongoing calculations) that are under construction/on the drawing boards/newly finished, and some wonder why so much – here’s one answer: The vacancy rate remains low. According to this new report from Dupre & Scott – who specialize in “apartment market research and advice” – forwarded to us by a WSB reader, the “gross vacancy rate” in West Seattle right now is 4.5 percent. That’s lower than the Puget Sound-wide rate Dupre & Scott found, 5 percent.
Bail is set at $1 million for the 18-year-old SeaTac man arrested Friday in connection with the Wednesday night shooting that killed 17-year-old Ruben Castillo of Burien. Probable-cause documents made available today, following his Saturday bail hearing, reveal more details about the incident:
“West Seattle has my attention.”
That’s what Mayor Ed Murray told us on Friday, when we had an opportunity to talk with him one-on-one for the first time since he took office two and a half months ago. In about 20 minutes, we touched on about half a dozen hot topics, and we’re breaking them up into separate stories, starting with this. First: His answer to our question about whether anything can be done to improve the traffic situation on the West Seattle Bridge.
In brief: The mayor says he recognizes that West Seattle, with the bridge as a chokepoint, does have a unique challenge, and, he says, “We can’t wait to find a West Seattle solution” long before any possible “mass-transit solution.”
What might that “West Seattle solution” be? Maybe reversible lanes? we suggested. Perhaps, the mayor said, or other “different ways we can control traffic.”
Next (later today, barring breaking news): Hear what the mayor has to say about the yet-to-be-activated – 14 months after our first report about them – Seattle Police surveillance cameras dotting West Seattle’s shoreline (and elsewhere in the city).
>Thanks to Chris Frankovich for sharing his photo of an eagle in Friday night’s sunset. The beautiful view of our biggest waterway – and its wildlife – brings us to the start of today’s short list from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WORLD WATER WEEK: Today marks the start of the fourth annual “ideas festival” at Chief Sealth International High School – as previewed here – focusing this year on plastic pollution. The big public community event is tomorrow night’s keynote by Chris Jordan.
COUNCIL VOTE ON PARK EXPANSION: Last week, as reported here, a City Council committee OK’d the purchase of land to expand Dakota Place Park northward. The final vote is on today’s 2 pm council agenda. The meeting starts with public comment, if you have anything to say (here’s the agenda); if you want to watch from afar, it’ll be live via cablecast and web stream via Seattle Channel.
FAMILY STORY TIME: 6:30 pm at the High Point Branch Library; details here. (35th/Raymond)
TRIVIA/PUB QUIZ: Three venues are on our calendar with trivia/pub quiz events on Monday nights – Christo’s at 7, OutWest at 7:30, Shadowland at 8.
ONE WEEK UNTIL WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY REGISTRATION: Signups start next Monday (March 31st) for the 10th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coming up Saturday, May 10th, hundreds of sales big and small around the peninsula, coordinated by us here at WSB. Watch here and on the official WSCGSD website!
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:07 AM: Good morning! First commute note today – the Saturday closure of Highway 99 concluded with all four lanes of the rebuilt Spokane St. Overcrossing open, on 99 just south of the West Seattle Bridge – we drove it on Sunday for this brief Instagram video clip:
No road-work closures today/tonight in our area, so far. Traffic updates to come, if/when needed.
7:29 AM: WSDOT just tweeted – from its perch watching the entire metro area – “continues to be a quiet, normal traffic day.”
8:19 AM: Downtown, though, there’s a problem – a crash at 1st and Spring has blocked all northbound lanes.
8:42 AM: Debris from a fender bender has a lane blocked on EB bridge. Thanks to Mike for the tip.
Once again this year, two local teams faced off for a citywide Parks & Rec championship – Mike Jensen shares the photo and report:
Two teams from West Seattle’s Hiawatha Community Center faced off again in the Seattle Parks & Recreation Girls U12 Competitive Division Championship game. The “Lil’ Storm” came out on top in a hard-fought game. Congrats to both teams on a great season.
Players, left to right: Ruby, Mikayla, Maddie, Jaeley, Jordan, Izzy, Madi, Hannah, Kelsey
Coaches left to right: Mike, Noel, Sharman
We also heard from Mike a year ago when two Hiawatha teams met for the U11 championships.
Sports are just part of the wide range of activities and programs you’ll find at local city-run community centers – all conveniently listed in one regional brochure you can see here.
This afternoon at Hiawatha, the West Seattle High School Wildcats host Lakeside. On Saturday, they played at Safeco Field:
Greg Slader shares photos and this summary of West Seattle’s 2-1 loss to Issaquah HS:
The baseball team played another pre-season game at Safeco Field, continuing the tradition of the High School Baseball Classic. Defense and pitching are still improving … Jake Magera and Larry Jensen held the Issaquah Eagles to two runs over six innings. Defense stepped up their game with a fantastic play @ home.
(Jimmy Mai tags out the runner at home)
The offense is still missing the clutch hits and left many opportunities on base.
This afternoon’s game is at 3:30. The WSHS softball team is at home today too, 3:30 pm at Southwest Athletic Complex vs. Ballard.
Rosies, unite! West Seattle’s Georgie Bright Kunkel is continuing to rally any and all Rosies she can find. Here’s news of the next get-together:
The next gathering of the newly organized Rosie the Riveter group will meet on Saturday, March 29th at 2:00 pm at the home of Georgie Bright Kunkel. Please call 206-935-8663 if you have not already RSVP’ed for this event.
Any woman who worked during the WWII years at any job that released a man to go to the service is a Rosie. You didn’t have to be a riveter.
Hundreds of students from kindergarteners to 12th graders were at Chief Sealth International High School today, for a statewide event – the Washington State Chinese Language and Talent Competition. We hadn’t heard about it in advance but noticed the school’s parking lot was full, an unusual sight for a Sunday; a web search revealed what was going on, so a bit later, we stopped in to check it out. It was lunchtime for most participants, but performances were under way in the auditorium – dancers performed (top photo) while musicians practiced in the hallway:
Among the spectators during our visit: The renowned Seattle Chinese Community Girls’ Drill Team – this might be the only time you’ve ever seen them NOT in motion:
In addition to music and dancing, competition was held in categories from poetry to public speaking to drawing to Chinese chess. The event was presented by the Cultural Exploration of Greater China Foundation, the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Washington State, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s World Languages Program, and the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington, whose Education Center is headquartered on the Denny/Sealth campus.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tomorrow is scheduled to be the second full day of defense-witness testimony in the Morgan Junction murder trial.
The defense’s first full day, on Thursday, delved into 69-year-old defendant Lovett “Cid” Chambers‘s life, before, during, and after the incident for which he is charged with second-degree murder.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Mark Cunningham was on the stand all day and will be there again when proceedings resume tomorrow morning before King County Superior Court Judge Theresa B. Doyle.
After the conclusion of direct questioning by defense attorney Ben Goldsmith, prosecutor Margaret Nave was cross-examining him about his practice and his pricing by day’s end on Thursday.
Cunningham’s report on interviews with Chambers and others, enhanced by other research, was intended as context for the defense contention that Chambers acted in self-defense, through the prism of post-traumatic stress disorder, when he shot 35-year-old Travis Hood by Morgan Junction Park the night of January 21, 2012. Cunningham drew a portrait of a man who, despite having been out of prison for decades, was constantly on edge for the possibility that dangerous elements from his former life would find him in his new one.
Two weeks ago, we reported briefly on a driver who had crashed into a tree atop a greenbelt slope in the 4800 block of 21st SW on Puget Ridge. No major investigation followed; the car was soon towed, after its driver was taken to the hospital with what sounded, from emergency-radio communications, non-life-threatening injuries. But now a roadside memorial has appeared, on and beneath the tree hit that morning, and we thereby have learned the driver, 91-year-old Ruth Naomi Toliver, did not survive. Her name and photo are part of the memorial; we have found only a very brief obituary for Ms. Toliver (on a small Texas town’s paywalled news site), which says she was born November 8, 1922, in St. Louis, and died the day of the crash, March 9, at Harborview Medical Center. (The roadside memorial lists the same dates.) Public records show a Highland Park address for Ms. Toliver; the online obituary suggests memorial donations to (the former) Community Services for the Blind.
Also on Saturday, a cross-town soccer match – Madison Middle School and Denny International Middle School boys’ teams facing off at Southwest Athletic Complex. Denny principal Jeff Clark shared the photo and reports, “The final outcome was 4 goals to 2, with Denny taking home the new trophy. Thank you to the West Seattle Soccer Club for your support! Congratulations to both teams on their effort and sportsmanship!” Clark says this, like the annual girls’ games between Madison and Denny (Madison won the last two years), was dubbed “Battle of West Seattle.” WSSC is involved with both – note the brightly striped WSSC scarf around the trophy.
(Photos courtesy Denny principal Jeff Clark)
Big night of music and dancing last night in the Sealth/Denny Galleria! From Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark, on behalf of himself and Chief Sealth International High School principal Aida Fraser-Hammer:
The Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School Big Band Dinner was held last night to the delight of all in attendance.
(Denny Jazz Band)
The music from all three performing groups, the Denny Jazz Band, the Sealth Jazz Band, and the West Seattle Big Band was phenomenal! Guests enjoyed great food and dancing to the amazing sounds or the performers.(Dancing to the Chief Sealth Jazz Band)
Once again, Mr. Marcus Pimpleton has skillfully taken our music groups to a new level of performance–congratulations to all of the Denny and Sealth musicians! A huge thank you to the West Seattle Big Band for supporting us with their time, talents, and donation.(West Seattle Big Band)
Our volunteers are a group who continue to demonstrate unparalleled dedication to our kids and music program — thank you so much!
The West Seattle Big Band also performed for benefits at West Seattle High School and at Madison Middle School; supporting student music is their main mission. Watch for their local performances later this year, usually including the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park at Hiawatha in July.
What will be done with those six long-shuttered substation sites in West Seattle, declared surplus by City Light?
Today is your next chance to check out/get involved with the citizens group asking the city to slow down the process so that neighborhoods can help determine the sites’ future, the West Seattle Green Space Coalition. Its meeting is open to all, 3 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction (California/Oregon).
Earlier this month, the City Council’s Energy Committee, chaired by Councilmember Kshama Sawant, was briefed on where the substation-disposition process stands. What you see above is the presentation prepared for that committee and a meeting later in the day of the city’s Urban Forestry Commission, providing a thorough overview of the group’s efforts and each of the six sites. (Thanks to coalition member Michael Oxman for providing the slide deck, and pointing us to this city webpage where you can hear archived audio of the commission meeting as well as see its draft notes.)
As explained by commenter Jane following our Friday note about no-parking signs for a Saturday “production shoot” on Alki, it did indeed turn out to be an Ivar’s production. Via the WSB Facebook page, Athena shared photos (including the one above) after happening onto the Saturday scene. Last Ivar’s production we recall in the vicinity was the notorious 2009 underwater-billboard yarn. The restaurant chain’s founder Ivar Haglund, of course, was an Alki native, and this past Friday (March 21st) was the 109th anniversary of his birth.
Activities, programs, and events at Seattle Parks facilities involve more than city staffers … many also result from the work of citizen advisory councils. And right now, the Advisory Council at Southwest Pool and Teen Life Center in Westwood is looking for new members:
The Southwest Advisory Council is a group of citizens dedicated to the enrichment of our community through supporting people and programs at Southwest Pool and Teen Life Center. Its support enables us to offer a variety of programs and services for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
Our Advisory Council is always looking for new members. Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 7-8:30 pm to talk about programs, policies, and financial issues. Citizen direction, input and participation are vital to our continued success. Advisory Council members also create scholarship opportunities through grant writing and other fundraising activities. If you would like to get involved, please contact Diane Jones at 684-7440 or Stephanie Berry at 684-7438. We would love to have you share your talents, ideas, and abilities. You can make a difference in our community!
The pool and center are at 2801 SW Thistle.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports tonight:
STOLEN CAR: From Danny and Laine:
On the morning of March 22nd in between 2:00 to 7:30 am, on the 3000 block of Bataan St SW [map], our car (1994 red Honda Civic hatchback license 727-WPG) was stolen from in front of our home. The car is in pretty good shape with a noticeable dent on the door on the passenger side as well as a scratch on the front right bumper with purple paint residue from a prior accident. Also there is a black bike rack with sticker that says “got oars?”, and a Bastyr University Sticker (faded white and red in color) on the back bottom left window.
Please call 911 if you see their car.
RECOGNIZE THESE SHOES? From Curtis:
Someone smashed into my car this morning at 20th & SW Barton [map] this morning in a stolen Acura… then dropped these shoes after running away across Delridge.
My neighbor saw a slim hooded figure run off to the east across Delridge who dropped those shoes.
Any clues? Police report’s on file for that one too.
P.S. If you’re interested in how police deal with stolen property, don’t miss the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network’s next meeting, 6:30 pm Tuesday (March 25th) at the precinct – full details here.
More development notes tonight, starting with something of a followup to last Thursday’s public-comment meeting about the 6536 24th SW subdivision proposal (WSB coverage here):
Neighbors say that backhoe was dropped off at the site this morning; we went over to take that photo shortly after hearing about it. There are no current permits for work on the site, as you can see on the city webpage for the address. The site includes land the city considers an Environmentally Critical Area, so if anything is started, neighbors vow to call police. The site’s owner is asking the city for approval to split two lots into eight, and has drawn up plans to follow that up with single-family houses. As city planners told those in attendance Thursday night, they are still waiting for the owner’s replies to “correction” notices they have issued (all readable here). We first reported on the subdivision proposal back in December and about neighbors’ concerns in January.
Tonight’s other West Seattle development notes start with another backhoe sighting, this one WITH a permit:
Demolition is expected any day at 4808 SW Alaska, the 88-year-old house that was once Fraker’s Grocery and is now making way for a single-family house. We last wrote about it in December, and commenters shared memories; we had also featured the site in a then-and-now report six years ago.
OTHER TEARDOWNS: Looking at the city Department of Planning and Development‘s online files, a few other demolition permits have been filed for in the past week or so – one big, others smaller. Teardown/redevelopment activity is definitely on the rise for sites of all sizes:
4745 40TH SW: The ’80s-era office building here will be torn down to make way for the 135-apartment, 115-parking-space development that finished going through Design Review in December. Here’s the demolition-permit application.
4522 DELRIDGE WAY SW: Four houses are planned at this teardown site.
6780 48th SW: This 93-year-old house near Lowman Beach will be torn down and replaced with a new single-family house. Here’s the demolition-permit application.
6008 44TH SW: This 96-year-old Seaview house will be torn down and replaced with a new single-family house. Here’s the demolition-permit application.
8313 CALIFORNIA SW: A new single-family house is proposed to replace this 73-year-old Gatewood house.
RESEARCH TIP: If it’s not already in your bookmarks, this is the link to use to find out what if anything is proposed for any given address in Seattle.
(“Live” cam at south end of remaining elevated AWV, from the WSB Traffic page)
The Alaskan Way Viaduct “follow-up inspection” is over and Highway 99 is open again, WSDOT has confirmed. From its announcement:
… During today’s inspection, WSDOT engineers took a closer look of areas previously covered in ivy on the 60-year-old highway and installed monitoring devices to gather data over several weeks.
Next steps: Late-night drivers could see some single-lane closures in coming weeks, while repair crews fill cracks with epoxy.
It will take months for engineers to analyze the information from the newly installed monitoring devices, which could shed more light on the cause of the cracking along the elevated highway and if a more robust fix is needed.
P.S. The SDOT Blog website featured some interesting background this week on AWV traffic volume and why the numbers seem to have changed recently.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Not so many property-crime reports in West Seattle Crime Watch lately, and the report from Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith (photo left) at this week’s WS Crime Prevention Council offered one reason why: The criminals just haven’t been as busy.
Might be this month’s almost-record-setting rain, Lt. Smith acknowledged, but whatever the case, burglaries in the week preceding Tuesday’s meeting were down to 6 from the average 9 – “we’d like to get to zero,” he noted, mentioning that the SW Anti-Crime Team is “going after people related to a theft ring, on top of burglary, stolen property, narcotics … there will be some search warrants served.” (Whether that’s related to the 32nd/Juneau bust reported here Thursday night, we’re still trying to find out.)
Auto-theft cases in the preceding week were down as well, Lt. Smith reported – 5, compared to the average 8; non-residential burglaries average 2, and there had been one.
Community concerns voiced immediately after the crime-trends briefing included local parks – questions about the gate at Hamilton Viewpoint Park in North Admiral not being locked at night, and about unlocked bathrooms at Roxhill Park late at night. Lt. Smith and Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores promised to check into both.
The meeting’s featured guests were from the Seattle Police recruiting team – talking about how SPD finds, screens, trains, and hires candidates.
No coyote reports in the WSB inbox for a long time, and then suddenly, within minutes of each other, two came in this afternoon, from two different neighborhoods (perhaps because it’s spring and almost pupping time). First, Beth reported: “I just passed a large coyote on 42nd and Barton” (map); then, from Jeff:
Saw a coyote on 44th Ave SW mid-block between SW Rose St & SW Southern St [map] at 12:30 PM today. Ducked into the greenbelt between 44th and 45th when it saw us. Third sighting here in the past 2-3 months. Appears to be the same animal.
If you’re a new reader – WSB has long featured coyote sightings and information (archived here, newest-to-oldest) not out of alarmism, but as education. While they more often eat rodents, they do sometimes eat small pets left alone outside, and bereaved pet owners subsequently say they had no idea that could happen. Without food sources – including dog/cat food put outside – and with “hazing” if you encounter one, they can be encouraged to keep their distance, as advised/explained by the state.
| 1 COMMENT