West Seattle, Washington
10 Thursday
A memorial service and celebration are planned tomorrow (Friday, May 16th) for Robert Edmund Chaney, whose family shares this remembrance:
Mr. Robert Edmund Chaney met his Pilot face to face on May 8th at 88.
Mr. Chaney was best known as a true West Seattle guy! He was the father to Liz Chaney (Trindade) and Carolyn Camille Chaney, both of whom graduated from West Seattle High! Mr. Chaney was a true neighbor and lived in the North Admiral district since 1966.
He worked at Husky Delicatessen for more than 20 years and has been a RE Broker for Century 21 for most of his career. As a Christian minister, award-winning poet & writer, he left a powerful legacy to his other two children, Christopher Chaney of Southern California and & Kimberly Condrin of Renton WA. He has five grandchildren, Cory & Taylor Condrin, Tatiana, Lorenzo & Romeu Trindade. Mr. Chaney was one of 11 children and for the very reason he loved to have a lot of people, friends and family around. Mr. Chaney was a loving husband to Beverly Chaney (former Talent Manager to Jim Caviezel and Brendan Frasier). Mr. Chaney, Bob, was also a host father to hundreds of exchange students for over 15 years. He attended University of Oregon and Stanford with degrees in Business & Political Science.
Memorial service at Tahoma National Cemetery on May 16th, 2:00 pm, 18600 SE 240th St., Kent. Memorial celebration at his home in West Seattle. If you would like to attend, contact his daughter, Liz Chaney Trindade by cell, 917 435 6455; text is OK.
(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
If you feel strongly about microhousing – the new wave of mini-apartments that cluster around shared kitchens, usually one per floor – Monday’s your chance to speak to the City Council’s Planning/Land Use/Sustainability Committee about the proposed new city rules/definitions. The meeting agenda circulated today reminds us of the date, which, as reported here, was first announced last month. Here again is the council memo about the proposal; here’s the agenda. The public hearing is at 5:30 pm Monday (May 19th) in council chambers at City Hall downtown. (WSB photo: First West Seattle microhousing project to open, Footprint Delridge)
Summer festival season is weeks away, and planning is well underway for the biggest event of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB). If you’re with a community group/nonprofit organization interested in a free chance to meet more neighbors (and prospective members/supporters), the WS Junction Association has a deal for you:
The West Seattle Junction Association is again offering the FREE Community Tent at West Seattle Summer Fest – July 11, 12, and 13. The purpose of this area at Summer Fest is to allow our small neighborhood non-profits and community groups easy access to the event and their community – free of charge!
Furry Faces Foundation has volunteered to coordinate the community tent and is now accepting requests for space from West Seattle non-profits and community groups. Furry Faces Foundation will select groups who strive to benefit, strengthen, and educate our community.
Here are the Community Tent details:
The Community Tent will be located on Alaska St . Tent, tables, and chairs will be provided. Participants are encouraged to set up their area with displays which reflect their mission and contributions to the West Seattle Community. Please feel free to bring props, brochures and such, which will entice folks to stop and chat with you about your organization. No sales please.
Shift changes will be a little cozy, so we’ll all have a chance to get friendly and help each other out, if needed.
Hours
Friday: 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 5 pmCommunity Tent Shifts
Friday/Saturday: 4-hour slots
10 am – 2 pm
2 pm – 6 pmSunday: 3-hour slots
11 am – 2 pm
2 pm – 5 pmIf your neighborhood non-profit or community group is interested in being a part of the Summer Fest Community Tent, please e-mail by June 27th, furryfaces@hotmail.com
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Congratulations to West Seattle author Emily Krieger, whose “Kids’ Myths Busted” has won Book of the Year for fifth/sixth graders in the Children’s Choice Book Awards, announced last night. We mentioned here a week and a half ago that her book was a finalist; WSB reader Ketty e-mailed us today to share this link with news of Emily’s win. (The second book in the series, by the way, has just been published.)
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
11:38 AM: The achievement gap among Seattle students is “unacceptable,” Mayor Ed Murray has just told a gathering at High Point Commons Park’s outdoor amphitheater, starting the official announcement of the Seattle Preschool Program. Materials provided to us and other media reps say they’ll go to voters with a four-year property-tax levy to raise $14.5 million a year, costing “the average homeowner” $3.63 a month. It will be “voluntary for providers and participants and will build toward serving 2,000 children in 100 classrooms by 2018.” Otherwise, “the moral cost is too high,” declared the mayor. 
More to come.
11:48 AM: “Every child in our city deserves a fair start … in life,” says Councilmember Tim Burgess, after being called by the mayor “the godfather” of the proposal. He says this would pay for full-day preschool. The announcement notes, “The program will have the ultimate goal of serving all eligible and interested 4-year-olds and all 3-year-olds from families making less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level in Seattle.” 
The classrooms in which they would be served would “be provided through a mixed-delivery system, with classrooms offered by Seattle Public Schools and community providers.” SPS Superintendent José Banda speaks shortly thereafter, saying the district looks forward to being “a partner” in this, and that he expects this will make Seattle “a model” for the rest of the country.
Asked about asking for yet another tax, the mayor acknowledges that “there’s a risk” but also says that if this helps bring a brighter future for more Seattle youth, “it’s going to save us money.”
A few more points:
*Free tuition for families earning less than 200% of federal poverty level
*Sliding scale for families earning more than that, “with at least some level of subsidy for all families”
*”Ongoing, independent evaluation” promised for a “feedback loop” to shape the program as it continues
12:02 PM: Event wrapping up; we have it on video and will add when uploaded. If you watch TV news, you’ll see something about it tonight, as it was a full-scale regional-media turnout. Next step? The council will have to vote by early August to get this on the November ballot. Details here.
ADDED: Our video of the entire event:
When Judy asked via Twitter why Seattle Police SWAT officers are in The Junction, near 42nd and Oregon, we suspected they’d come for training (the to-be-demolished homes in that block have been used for it before); as our crew discovered, that suspicion was correct. The team has a request, though: If you parked along 42nd in the area (4400 block, north of Oregon), please go move your vehicle(s) ASAP …
… they need the space!
The poll mentioned in our coverage of Tuesday’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting has just launched: WSTC is looking for your opinion on funding sources you think the city should consider before a final decision on how to avoid Metro cuts. The poll will be open until Tuesday morning; find it here. Ahead, the WSTC’s announcement and explanation:
#34dems #wadems Congressman Jim McDermott addressing 34th District Dems #mcdermott4rep pic.twitter.com/hX21DxkEqP
— Marcee Stone (@bluecella) May 15, 2014
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A visit from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott was top-billed for Wednesday night’s meeting of our area’s largest political organization, the 34th (Legislative) District Democrats, but endorsements stole the show.
Atop that list, the 34th DDs gave their blessing to the August ballot measure that will seek to set up a Seattle Park District, though one pre-vote speaker warned that elected officials should “explain it better” before ballot-casting time arrives.
They also made endorsement decisions in judicial races, with some of the candidates on hand, even an appearance by newly appointed State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, who arrived at the meeting after her endorsement vote, and thanked the group:
Justice Mary Yu thanks the @34dems for their endorsement for her election to the State Supreme Court – pic.twitter.com/ZbiRlKeenH
— 34th Democrats (@34dems) May 15, 2014
Other endorsees included Congressmember McDermott, who spoke for a few minutes shortly after the meeting began. Introducing him, 34th DDs chair Marcee Stone-Vekich suggested everybody go look up the video clip of McDermott “swinging a fish in the halls of Congress” with Stephen Colbert. We found it:
Land-use approvals are in for two sizable West Seattle projects, as announced in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin from the city. Both decisions include DNS rulings (determination of non-significance, meaning the city does not believe a full environmental review is needed):
(Rendering courtesy Nicholson-Kovalchick Architects)
3210 CALIFORNIA: This mixed-use project won Southwest Design Review Board approval last month, in its fifth meeting; it’s now partly four stories, partly five stories, with 134 apartments, 5,913 square feet of commercial space, two live/work units, and 152 offstreet parking spaces. Here’s the notice; here’s the decision. The announcement starts the clock on an appeal process open until May 29th; here’s how.
3078 AVALON WAY: This is an all-residential project, seven stories, 102 apartments and 59 offstreet parking spaces, with approval recommended by the SWDRB in January; here’s the notice; here’s the decision. This approval also triggers an appeal period until May 29th; here’s how.
Thanks to Rahel for sharing that low-tide scene via the WSB Facebook page – that’s the view from Wednesday afternoon, and today will bring an even lower tide, -2.3 at noon, then -2.6 at 12:44 pm Friday and the same at 1:29 pm Saturday. Find the tide chart any time on the WSB West Seattle Weather page. And now, from our calendar:
PLANTS! The South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Garden Center is open today – 11 am-3 pm on the north end of campus. (6000 16th SW)
NATURE THURSDAY AT CAMP LONG: After school, join West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler for exploration at 3:30 pm – details here. (5200 35th SW)
CHALLAH BREAD-BAKING WORKSHOP: 5:30 pm at Delridge Community Center – details (call to see if there’s still room) in our calendar listing. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
TASTE OF WEST SEATTLE: Last tickets up for grabs as we write this – check here; details including the restaurant/bar list can be found in our update from Wednesday. 6 pm VIP ticketholders, 6:30 pm general, The Hall at Fauntleroy. (9131 California SW)
6917 CALIFORNIA PROJECT, COMMUNITY UPDATE: As previewed here last weekend, you’re invited tonight to hear from the neighbors who have been talking with the city and the developer of the controversial 30-apartment, no-offstreet-parking 6917 California project, as they look ahead to an appeal hearing next week, and solicit other community opinions on possible mitigation related to the project. Come hear and be heard, downstairs meeting room at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), 7 pm. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: Seattle Lutheran plays at Delridge Playfield at 3:15 pm today; West Seattle HS is in the Metro League tournament final game at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center at 7 pm tonight.
GUITARISTS INVITED … to the Seattle Classic Guitar Society‘s open-microphone event at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7 pm. (5612 California SW)
‘HAIR’ AT ARTSWEST: Flower power with the classic musical at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) curtain time 7:30 pm. (4711 California SW)
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Roxhill Elementary‘s Jump Rope for Heart event got a bonus boost from guest participants on Wednesday – University of Washington Huskies football players! Above, defensive end Jarett Finau goes airborne. Next, linebacker Sean Constantine and offensive lineman Mike Criste with the assist for Roxhill scholars working on heart health:
But the half-dozen visiting student-athletes weren’t just on campus to jump …
… they also spoke at an assembly, as part of their “Blitz the Sound” program.
Other participants included defensive back Brandon Beaver, outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, and wide receiver Marvin Hall. Blitz the Sound is a program the UW football program launched a decade ago to help inspire local students – even if athletics aren’t in their future – to work hard and do their best. (Thanks to Roxhill’s PE teacher Chellie LaFayette for inviting us to stop by!)
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:47 AM: Quiet on the routes through/from West Seattle, so far.
Looking ahead to tomorrow – it’ll be Bike To Work Day on Friday, with the usual “commute station” for bicyclists beneath the West Seattle Bridge, plus two in White Center; here’s the regional map.
Looking ahead to the weekend – remember that Sunday brings the West Seattle 5K (co-sponsored by WSB), closing Alki SW along the full route until about 11 am, and then between 56th and 63rd until 5 pm for the “car-free” Seattle Summer Streets event.
8:33 AM: If you haven’t headed out yet and usually take Fauntleroy from Morgan Junction or southward, we’ve received a report of a potential hazard – somebody standing out in the street in the Fauntleroy/Graham vicinity. En route to check it out.
(WSB photo: Sealth sophomore David Johnson)
Tough loss tonight for Chief Sealth International High School, playing Bainbridge in the Metro League playoffs at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. The Seahawks played hard, holding the lead at times, but fell short, losing 10-7.
Quick break for a fun clip – Kaycie shared it, explaining:
Our son, Henry, who plays T-Ball for the West Seattle Little League “Wild Things,” was the Steal-A-Base Kid at the Mariners game Sunday (Mother’s Day), which also happened to be Little League Day at the Stadium. He got some help from Mariners player James Jones! Thought I’d send along the video that was posted on Mariners.com and MLB.com. WSLL was well represented! Lots of cheering and fun all around!
Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda will be back in West Seattle tomorrow morning for a big announcement – what’s expected to be a tax levy to raise money for universal pre-kindergarten in Seattle. They will announce what’s described in a media advisory as the “Seattle Preschool Program proposal” during an 11:30 am event at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, joined by City Council President Tim Burgess (who has been a leading advocate of the proposal), State Rep. Ruth Kagi, and State Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde.
6:09 PM: Want to talk with a city councilmember about how your money is spent – and will be spent? Now until 8 pm, you have a prime chance at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge. Three councilmembers are here so far for the Public Safety/Civil Rights-focused workshop looking ahead to the 2015-2016 budget cycle – Nick Licata, who chairs the budget committee; Tim Burgess, who’s the president of the council; and Bruce Harrell, who chairs the public safety/civil rights/technology committee. Tom Rasmussen, the lone West Seattle-residing councilmember, is said to be en route. (Added: He arrived around 6:30.) The presentation hasn’t started yet, but we’re told it’s fairly short, and then it’s your turn to talk. More to come.
6:19 PM: City budget director Ben Noble is leading the presentation. He explains that right now the process of making the next budget plan is “in the executive phase” – departments send in their proposals this month and next, then the mayor reviews them over the summer, and a proposed budget goes to the council this fall. The current city budget is $4.4 billion; utilities and transportation spending comprise more than half that. But, Noble explains, most of the decisionmaking focuses on just $1 billion of that $4.4 billion – the “general fund.” More than half of that, in turn, goes to public safety – $576 million in the current cycle, says Noble. (Some of the information he’s presenting is on this two-page doc from the city website; we’re promised a copy of the slide deck, to come; ADDED – here it is.) Of that, a bit more than half – $289 million – goes to SPD. $175 million goes to SFD.
How much in the SPD budget goes to items related to the Department of Justice settlement? asked local community activist Pete Spalding. Hard to break that out, city staff said; Councilmember Harrell picked it up by saying, “You’ll hear different numbers,” noting that it’s led to the creation of new units, for example, such as Force Investigation (which was launched by now-Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske before his assignment to the local precinct, by the way).
6:43 PM: Questions so far include how budget items relate to, for example, SPD officers’ union and contract. Councilmember Harrell offered the example that the council might budget money for, say, body cameras, but if they weren’t written into the contract as a change of terms of employment, the money might sit there unspent, though “we’d find a way to use it,” Harrell added. West Seattle Be Prepared‘s Cindi Barker asked how much of the city budget goes toward preparedness; city staffers said they’d look it up. We have to move on to another meeting – but again, if you have questions/ideas, drop in at Youngstown, 4408 Delridge Way SW, until 8, and tell city reps about your public-safety-budget priorities (or send them via e-mail – lots of contact info on the right side of this page).
(First 56 minutes of WSTC Q/A with Andrew Glass Hastings)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just 12 hours before the non-major crash that led to two hours of major backups on the West Seattle Bridge, the West Seattle Transportation Coalition had asked Mayor Ed Murray‘s transportation adviser about how to deal with that kind of recurring problem.
As you can see 19 minutes into our video clip (which has the first 56 minutes of his Q/A with the WSTC, before camera trouble ended the clip), he talked about information access as part of the solution – finding more ways for more people to know about the problem before they find themselves stuck because of it.
But he made it crystal clear that he wasn’t at the WSTC meeting to defend the city or answer for problems, saying he was there in hopes of a “dialogue.”
The meeting also included confirmation of the WSTC’s permanent board and a few other updates – read on:
(King County Assessor’s Office photo of Swedish clinic building at 3400 California SW)
More big moves in local health care: If you are a patient at Swedish‘s pediatric clinic in South Admiral, you might already know it’s moving to The Junction (thanks to all the recent tipsters!). Following up with Swedish, we asked what it plans to do with the space the Children’s Clinic is leaving behind, and found out they’ll be opening an urgent-care clinic there later this year.
As noted online, the pediatric clinic will make the move to 4744 41st SW, east of Jefferson Square (a space vacated by the former Highline clinic that moved into The Triangle) over a weekend in mid-June, opening in the new location on June 16th. Swedish spokesperson Clay Holtzman tells WSB, “The move is being made to create additional space for the clinic. The new children’s clinic is adding one pediatrician. There are seven physicians associated with the children’s clinic, including the newest doctor. The new space will have parking out front and will be decorated with a West Seattle theme. Most importantly, the new clinic will be reconfigured for a ‘care team’ approach – a concept in patient care that has a team of people (not just the physician) who are responsible for the wellness of the patient. This reflects the more efficient, proactive, and engaged approach that health care overall is shifting toward.”
After that, Holtzman continues, “The old location at California SW will expand its third-floor primary care clinic into the second floor (where the children’s clinic was). Swedish will be adding an Urgent Care clinic in that second floor.” Urgent Care, he says, will open there in the late summer or early fall.
The Taste of West Seattle, benefiting WS Helpline, is usually a sellout by the time the doors open and the tasting begins … so if you are thinking about going, but haven’t purchased tickets, don’t wait – a few dozen remain, we just found out.
What? Haven’t heard about it? More than 40 restaurants and beverage establishments are participating, and once you’re in, you can try them all, if you have time and room. It’s tomorrow night (Thursday, May 15th), at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW, south side of the historic schoolhouse), 6 pm if you get the VIP ticket ($95), 6:30 pm otherwise ($50), must be at least 21 (bring ID!). The participating/hosting venues donate the food, beverages, and people, and the proceeds go to make sure the Helpline can continue providing assistance to people in emergency circumstances. Tickets await you online, here.
P.S. Click ahead for a list of participants:
(April 8th photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand – Lovett Chambers, foreground, with lawyer Ben Goldsmith)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Five weeks after a King County Superior Court jury found Lovett Chambers guilty of manslaughter in the deadly shooting of Travis Hood in Morgan Junction in January 2012, his sentencing date is set: June 13th.
The judge who presided over his trial, Theresa B. Doyle, will oversee the sentencing as well. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has not yet finalized a sentencing recommendation; the standard range for manslaughter is 78 to 102 months, and five years would be added to that because Chambers used a gun, but the baseline range would be higher if any of the crimes on Chambers’ record from decades ago count in his “offender score.” He was originally charged with first-degree murder, reduced last August to second-degree murder; jurors found him not guilty of that charge, but guilty of first-degree manslaughter.
Meantime, Chambers’ legal team has filed a motion for a new trial based on the racial makeup of the jury pool and jury.
(Barred owls ‘kissing’ at Lincoln Park; photo by Trileigh Tucker)
Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (and story archives):
GARDEN STORY TIME: Take the little one(s) to “How My Garden Grows” story time at 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library. (2306 42nd SW)
LOW-ISH TIDE: With the full moon comes low tides – get out on the beach if you can! -1.6 at 11:22 am today, -2.3 at noon tomorrow, -2.6 at 12:44 pm Friday and the same at 1:29 pm Saturday. (Chart on the WSB West Seattle Weather page)
BEER WEEK AT ELLIOTT BAY: You might be well and sudsily aware that this is Seattle Beer Week. Elliott Bay Brewery Pub‘s big event in The Junction is at 4 pm today. (4720 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT SALTY’S: Looks like another gorgeous evening to be out on a deck by the water, and Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) has exactly that – plus, 5:30-8:30 pm, live Latin-jazz music with Alma y Azucar. (1936 Harbor Avenue SW)
HOW SHOULD THE CITY SPEND YOUR MONEY? As previewed here last night, the city’s next budget workshop, seeking your ideas on how the city should spend your money in the next budget cycle, is 6-8 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Special focus: Public safety and civil rights, though you can bring up other aspects too. (We mentioned in our preview that the Seattle Privacy Coalition plans to call for a city privacy review; here’s the letter they’ll be presenting and circulating.) Even if you can’t stay for the whole meeting, the city invites you to stop by and have a say. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
CONGRESSMEMBER, SOAPBOX @ 34TH DDs: 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, it’s the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, with three major items on the agenda. First, an update from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott; second, endorsements including judges and the Park District issue; third, a new “soapbox” opportunity, for members only – rules here. (9131 California SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: Chief Sealth International High School vs. Bainbridge, 7 pm tonight at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. (1321 SW 102nd)
OPEN-MICROPHONE COMEDY SLAM: 8-10 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), come show off your funniness. (6451 California SW)
MORE! MORE! MORE! … on the calendar page.
9 AM: For all the talk about the stuck Highway 99 tunnel machine, we’ve had a tough time visualizing exactly where it is. A new set of a dozen renderings made public by the state has fixed that. It’s part of a new online update from WSDOT; at the lower right of the rendering shown above, that’s Pier 50, where the West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxis dock downtown. Work has begun underground on the 120-foot-deep “access pit,” according to the WSDOT update – scroll through the renderings to see how that is supposed to unfold. The WSDOT update also points to an added webcam showing the work zone on the surface (top right of this page). Bottom line, though, no change in the timeline, which still projects that tunneling will resume in/by “late March 2015.”
12:23 PM: We followed up with WSDOT regarding some questions that came up in comments. Spokesperson Laura Newborn says the utility-relocation cost is part of the repair work and: “The cost associated with the entire fix, is, in WSDOT’s opinion, STP’s responsibility. Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities have done a remarkable job in helping us relocate these utilities, which should be wrapped up by next week.”
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:48 AM: Trouble on the bridge – thanks to everyone who’s reporting a crash at/near the top, described as blocking the bus lane and part of the lane to the left of it. No injuries.
7:20 AM: Still causing a backup. (Added – screengrab we snagged at the time, for posterity:)
Meanwhile, if you’re going to be on the road in SODO at midday today, remember that the Mariners have a day game.
7:29 AM: Thanks for comment updates, including bus rider reporting tow truck at crash scene. (Added – another screengrab for posterity:)
7:59 AM: After almost an hour and a half, the bridge crash has JUST cleared. Just last night, the “one stalled car/crash blocking thousands of commuters” problem was among the questions the West Seattle Transportation Coalition had for Mayor Murray’s transportation adviser Andrew Glass Hastings; our story’s coming up later (spoiler alert on that point, no clear answer).
8:14 AM: As commenters are pointing out – there’s still a residual backup, so if you can wait to leave, that’s still good advice. We also were asked if SDOT tweeted about the crash (here’s the context for asking) – the first tweet we see was at 7:42 am, an hour after the earliest reports we received.
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