West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
Another business is moving to Morgan Junction:
Thanks to a tip from Sue, we’ve learned who’s taking over the storefront at 6701 California SW that’s been vacant since Pet Elements‘ recent move to a new, larger location (6511 California). Be Pilates is heading south from its current Charlestown-area location. E-mail to clients says that Be Pilates expects to open in the new location in early August.
Ballots for the August 6th primary go out today. If you would rather drop yours off than mail it, you’ll have a second “drop van” option 
in this area this time around. In addition to the ballot-dropoff van that will again be stationed on the driveway of West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW), King County Elections has added one in White Center – at Greenbridge Library (9720 8th SW), right across Roxbury from the south edge of Highland Park. Here’s the map showing all drop vans and 24-hour dropboxes around the county. The county says the drop vans will be available on Saturday, August 3rd, and Monday, August 5th, 10 am-5 pm, and on Election Day, Tuesday, August 6th, 10 am-8 pm; the 24-hour dropboxes will be available starting tomorrow.
Thanks to Rachel for sharing this morning’s sunrise view via Twitter! On with the day, and night. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARM STAND, WEEK 2: 4-7 pm, go buy fresh organic produce just steps from where it was grown, at the weekly Farm Stand for the High Point Market Garden (part of the P-Patch program). (32nd/Juneau)
ALKI ‘ROWHOUSE’ DEVELOPMENT MEETING: 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, it’s the resident-requested meeting about an 11-unit development proposal at 2414 55th SW that’s raised environmental, traffic, and other issues, as explained here. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S QUARTERLY MEETING: 7 pm at The Kenney (WSB sponsor); see our calendar listing for the full agenda as shared by president Deb Barker. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
DELRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL’S MONTHLY MEETING: 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, with an agenda including updates on local proposals for city street and park grants as well as events including August 17’s Delridge Day. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
UNPLUGGED! From 7-9 pm, C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) and the Seattle Classic Guitar Society host an open-mike session for classical guitarists and other unplugged musicians; more info here. (5612 California SW)
JUBILEE DAYS FIREWORKS (AND CARNIVAL): We’re mentioning tonight’s White Center Jubilee Days fireworks mostly so you’re not startled to hear explosions in the distance – but everyone’s welcome if you want to go see them in person too. Also note that Steve Cox Memorial Park is the site of the Jubilee Days carnival, which starts at 3 pm today. (15th/102nd)
6:58 AM: Police are on the scene of what they describe as a vehicular assault in Highland Park, in the 9400 block of 11th SW. They say they’re looking for a woman who “allegedly intentionally struck a male victim with a car and fled.” We’re en route to find out more.
7:11 AM UPDATE: This is on 11th SW just north of Roxbury, but our crew at the scene says Roxbury is not affected. Two police units are still on scene and they tell us that little end of 11th will be blocked off for a while, though, because the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is coming out.
7:24 AM UPDATE: Police say the victim is in his 20s and has been taken to Harborview Medical Center, and they say the suspect is “known,” though not yet in custody.
11:55 AM UPDATE: We’re awaiting official confirmation, but it sounds like the suspect might have been found – along with the vehicle – in south King County.
12:14 PM UPDATE: Police have now confirmed the arrest. Here’s their update, in full, from SPD Blotter:
Detectives are investigating a strange call that occurred early this morning in Highland Park involving a stolen car, vehicular assault and eventual arrest of the suspect.
Just after 6:00 this morning, Southwest Precinct officers responded to a report of a hit and run to a man in the 9400 Block of 11th Avenue SW. Witnesses stated that a woman known to the male victim stole his 2007 Cadillac and struck him with the car as he attempted to stop her from leaving. The 24-year-old victim sustained injuries to his head and body and was transported to Harborview Medical Center by the Seattle Fire Department.
Officers interviewed witnesses at the scene who provided information on the female suspect and possible locations for her. A stolen vehicle report was completed for the Cadillac and that information was broadcast to officers in several jurisdictions.
Officers attempted to locate the 23-year-old suspect in the Federal Way and Des Moines area, but she was not at any of the locations they checked. Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded to the collision scene and began their investigation.
Within the past hour the suspect was located with the stolen Cadillac and taken into custody in SeaTac. The car was impounded and taken to the processing room and the female suspect will be booked into the King County Jail. Officers and detectives are still conducting their investigation.
(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:52 AM: Off and running on a cloudy commmute.
8:10 AM: Now that it’s Wednesday, it’s time to look ahead to the weekend. Bus riders should note there will be reroutes from Saturday morning into early afternoon because of the West Seattle Grand Parade; on Sunday, there will be White Center-area reroutes for the Jubilee Days Parade. It’s all linked now from this page on the Metro Transit website.
Hiawatha’s summertime spotlight as an outdoor-concert venue began tonight with the annual West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park, starring the West Seattle Big Band. You never know what you’ll hear – above, the theme from the TV show “Family Guy.” (Lots of families in the audience, so perhaps terribly appropriate.) As always, the event featured royalty, too:
Hi-Yu Senior and Junior Court members practiced their public-speaking skills and sold Hi-Yu-supporting buttons. Meantime, the Big Band featured a new vocalist, Sarah Ackers, who performs the Peggy Lee classic “Fever” in our clip below:
The WSBB’s next gig is at 2 pm Sunday (July 21st) at the Ballard Locks. As WSBB’s Jim Edwards explained to tonight’s crowd, the musicians donate their time – the band’s earnings are turned over into donations to school music programs.
NEXT AT HIAWATHA – CASPAR BABYPANTS: More music this Friday afternoon (July 19th) – as part of Hiawatha Fun Fest, the kids-music megastar, a hit at West Seattle Summer Fest last Saturday, will play live at noon.
EIGHT DAYS UNTIL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES: And then, starting one week from Thursday, on July 25th, the Admiral Neighborhood Association-presented Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series (co-sponsored by WSB) begins – lineup’s here.
Just as we were processing photos from tonight’s mesmerizing sunset – lightning and thunder made an appearance. No photos of that yet, but here are three sunset views – first, so vivid from Alki Avenue, even our iPhone photo caught layers of colors. Next, Don Brubeck shares the reflected view from downtown:
And from Greg, on the bluff over Beach Drive’s Weather Watch Park:
A chance of thunderstorms was indeed in tonight’s forecast.
We’re at the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park, with the West Seattle Big Band serenading concertgoers on the east lawn at Hiawatha, and a few special guests – including Judy Pickens, above with WS Grand Parade co-coordinators Dave Vague (left) and Jim Edwards, who presented her with the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community (named after Hi-Yu’s founder). We’ll add video and another photo or two later (plus a separate story about the concert), but Judy’s key point was to urge people to find something “bigger than yourself.” Her many years of service have included helping kids with reading and with a salmon-raising program that benefits not only the youth but also local waterways – particularly Fauntleroy Creek, where she is a watershed steward. The crowd here gave her a couple good rounds of applause, but please show your support for community volunteerism and cheer Judy as she goes by toward the end of this Saturday’s Grand Parade (11 am start at California/Lander, heading south to California/Edmunds).
ADDED 11:19 PM: Listen in as Jim and Dave introduce Judy, and she offers words of thanks and wisdom:
Our parade countdown continues Wednesday!
6:13 PM: Fire crews have responded to a brush fire reported on the north end of Riverview Playfield. The scanner suggests arson is suspected and that someone was seen running away; the fire marshal has been called to investigate. No word of any injuries; we’re en route to check on damage. Also per the scanner, the fire is reported to have been in an area of roughly 6,100 square feet.
8:02 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Alan for the photo; he went over after the fire trucks left: “I hiked down to see where it was and took a picture. Sadly it appears to have been in a section that had recently been planted by Nature Consortium. You can see the melted grow tubes. Fortunately, it could have become much worse. The grass around it is tinder dry and we have a good breeze going.”
The latest round of coyote concern in West Seattle is NOT grounds for trapping and killing one (or more). We heard that today from a source that might surprise you – an agent of the federal Wildlife Services division who works in West Seattle. Last summer, we reported on his appearance in the Seola area, where neighbors were raising money for a four-digit “co-op” fee solicited for federal help; this year, Admiral residents seeking to do the same thing distributed flyers like this one. Then today, the agent called us out of the blue, to ask us to get the word out on what he advises people should do to minimize coyote conflict:
(NEWEST UPDATE BELOW: Response from regional Whole Foods exec, added 5:35 pm)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 11:58 AM: Mayor McGinn has told SDOT that he will not recommend City Council approval of the “alley vacation” request by the 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW (“Whole Foods”) megaproject. We’ve just obtained a copy of the memo from the mayor’s office – read it here or embedded here:
Mayor's memo opposing 4755 Fauntleroy Way alley vacation
The memo’s ending summary:
… it is difficult to see how the alley vacation proposal meets our public benefit standards when it does not support equitable economic development as stated in our Comprehensive Plan, does not support community vibrancy and walkability, and does not support our local urban design plans. It is the position of the executive that because this project is not in the public interest, we will not forward a recommendation to approve this alley vacation request to the City Council at this time.”
The project just passed Design Review last week, and has also been approved by the Design Commission, which reviews projects that require alley or street vacations, as does this 370-apartment, 600-parking space proposal. But other reviews are ahead because of the alley-vacation request – in fact, they were part of a separate followup we were working on when this broke – including the city Transportation Commission. (P.S. Since we believe in credit where credit’s due, hat tip Slog.)
ADDED 12:19 PM: As one commenter has pointed out, “alley vacation” isn’t exactly an everyday phrase. Here’s our basic breakdown: If a developer wants to buy and include city-owned right of way – part of an alley, or a street, or a “street end” – in a project, that right-of-way has to be “vacated” by the city – as explained here. West Seattle projects for which alley vacations were approved include Admiral Safeway and Spruce (formerly Fauntleroy Place, aka “The Hole”); one was also approved for the not-yet-begun Equity Residential (formerly Conner Homes) two-building project at California/Alaska.
(added) Here’s the east-west alley, looking to Fauntleroy from 40th, that the developers are asking for, along with part of the north-south alley:
Further south on the site, their proposal includes a “midblock connector,” seen here in the west-to-east view:
ADDED 12:36 PM: If you haven’t already read the mayor’s memo – he specifically calls out the non-union Whole Foods Market as cause for concern:
We have a strong commitment to social and economic justice at the City of Seattle. One of our core economic development goals is to provide fair and livable wages and benefits for our residents. The Economic Development elements of Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan contain clear language to this effect: “seeking a greater proportion of living wage jobs that will have greater benefits” and “support key sectors of Seattle’s economy to create jobs that pay wages that can support a family, provide necessary benefits, and contribute to the vitality of the City including, but not limited to, the industrial, manufacturing, service, hospitality and retail sectors.” The primary retail use in the proposed project is a 41,000 square foot Whole Foods Market. There are already seven large supermarkets within a mile and half of the site, at least six of which offer employer-paid, comprehensive affordable health benefits for full and part-time employees and their families, as well as family-supporting wage scales.
Family health benefits and employee wage scales offered by the proposed anchor tenant are
significantly lower than other similar businesses, particularly for the growing percentage of employees who work part-time. In addition, if the City is going to transfer its assets or otherwise help grocers build new facilities, we should encourage grocers willing to locate in underserved areas identified as having low food security and poor food access, consistent with the strategies identified in the City’s Food Action Plan.
Whole Foods remains the only signed commercial tenant for the project, confirmed its developers at last week’s Design Review meeting; they said they might lose the unsigned drugstore tenant because they pulled out the much-criticized drive-thru window that had been proposed. The Whole Foods (and supermarket-oversupply) arguments made by the mayor above have also been voiced at prior project meetings by representatives of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, which, as noted in our preview of last week’s Design Review meeting, is spearheading a campaign called “Getting It Right for West Seattle” seeking a “community benefits agreement” for this project.
1:50 PM UPDATE: More background: It’s been almost exactly one year since we broke the news this development was in the works. It spans everything along 40th and along Fauntleroy between Edmunds and Alaska *except* the Alki Masonic Temple and its parking lot. Here’s the Fauntleroy view, as photographed today:
Here’s our February report from when the alley-vacation application was announced. According to the city website, the next steps in the process would be the SDOT recommendation – which, as noted in the mayor’s memo, he says should be thumbs-down – and then a public hearing before the council’s Transportation Committee, which is chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, which in turn would make a recommendation to be considered by the full council.
ADDED 5:37 PM: We’re expecting comment from the development team, no later than tomorrow. In the meantime, we just received unsolicited comment from Whole Foods’ regional president Joe Rogoff:
I wanted to contact you directly because the information that Mayor McGinn shared in his letter regarding Whole Foods Market is factually inaccurate and it’s important for us to set the record straight. The vast majority – 70-80 percent, depending on the store – of Whole Foods Market’s team members work full time and that will be reflected in the team members we hire for our West Seattle location. That’s opposite of many other supermarkets, where part-time employees are the norm.
We do more than provide team members with fair and livable wages and benefits. We create a great place for our team members to build a career. We offer training, competitive benefits, stock options for all team members, gain-sharing and much more. Company benefits include a team member store discount of 20-30%, health care coverage for domestic partners and a health spending account to help cover health care expenses. Nearly all of our part-time workers can participate in our health care benefits. Our average wage for non-leadership Team Members in our Seattle stores is $16.15/hr. which is excellent for grocers.
In addition to our team members, we are also committed to the health and well-being of the communities where we do business. In every local community, we cultivate valued partnerships with a wide range of organizations – from school districts to non-profits to academic institutions. Programs like our Local Producer Loan Program and funds made available through the Whole Kids Foundation to add salad bars and school gardens are examples of this commitment to community. In addition, quarterly 5 Percent Days provide direct funding to local non-profit partners.
We’re proud to have been part of Seattle since 1999, and that our 6 metro stores now employ over 1400 Team Members. Many of those Team Members live in West Seattle, and they’re excited to work in their immediate community. We’re also looking forward to being part of this vibrant community as we are in so many others – socially and environmentally conscious citizens who contribute in many ways. This store will employ another 150 or so Team Members, most of whom will be local.
We’re reaching out in hopes to meet with Mayor McGinn very soon to share the facts and discuss how Whole Foods Market is absolutely in line with the City’s core economic goals.
(July 2012 Jubilee Days fireworks; White Center Now photo by Nick Adams)
Just want to make sure you know about two fireworks shows coming up in the area later this week – maybe you’ll want to go see one or both, or maybe you’ll just want the heads-up on what the “booms” are. Tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 17th), the White Center Jubilee Days fireworks start at dusk at Steve Cox Memorial Park (where the WCJD carnival begins at 3 pm and continues through Sunday, by the way).
Then Saturday night, it’s the fireworks show first mentioned here July 1st – at 10 pm that night (July 20th), about 10 minutes of fireworks will be fired from a barge off the 4500 block of Beach Drive, related to a private celebration on Genesee Hill (though it will of course be publicly visible).
Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing that look at a California sea cucumber in local waters – “underwater dust mop” was her nickname for it, and if you view the video (which shows it, rough cut, in two speeds) you’ll see why. Meantime, a quick look at some of what’s up around West Seattle today/tonight, whatever speed you’re traveling at:
FAMILY FUN AT LINCOLN PARK: Free stories and games with the Vashon Wilderness Project – here in West Seattle, at Lincoln Park. 10:30 am; details in our calendar listing.
BABY STORY TIME: 11:30 am, Southwest Library – details here. (35th/Henderson)
LUNCH AND LEARN: At the Senior Center of West Seattle, today’s 11:45 am lunch presentation features Clay Eals from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society talking about the historic Belvedere totem pole that is being restored for display at the SWSHS’s Log House Museum. Call ASAP to see if you can still get a lunch reservation; number and other details here. (California/Oregon)
THIS MIGHT BUG YOU: A local collector will present an “Insect Safari,” showing more than 3,000 insect specimens from around the world at Delridge Library, 2 pm. (Delridge/Brandon)
HI-YU CONCERT IN THE PARK: See, hear, and dance to (if you feel so moved) the West Seattle Big Band tonight, free, 7 pm, on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center/Park. Buy a Hi-Yu button while you’re there! Here’s ours:
Bonus during a break around 7:30 pm: Applaud Judy Pickens for her outstanding community service, as she receives this year’s Orville Rummel Trophy from American Legion Post 160, to be followed up with a VIP ride in this Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade.
BELLYDANCING AND KARAOKE: That’s the double bill tonight at Skylark Café and Club, 7:30 for the Alauda bellydancing showcase, 9 pm for Baby Ketten Karaoke. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Lots more nightlife on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar!
Throughout the summer, the work of getting ready for the next school year proceeds – and if you have some time to spare this Thursday, Roxhill Elementary could use the help:
Roxhill Elementary School is in need of a few volunteers to stamp and sort new books for our classrooms. We will be meeting at 12:00 on Thursday, July 18, at the main office. We will be done by 3:00 at the latest. Come in comfy clothes as the building does not have a/c. Contact Amanda Shutters, amshutters@seattleschools.org (814) 335-6853 for more information. Service hours available!
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:55 AM: Another very warm day in the works! So far, all’s well with the morning commute.
8:24 AM UPDATE: Multiple reports say the approaches to the Fauntleroy end of the bridge are backed up worse than usual. No obvious reason why – possibly an earlier problem on eastbound I-90, near the I-5 exit, blocking a lane?
ALERT FOR THIS WEEKEND: Just in from Washington State Ferries:
Expect heavy traffic Friday, July 19-Sunday, July 21 due to Vashon Island’s popular annual Strawberry Festival. Please plan ahead and arrive at the terminal early in order to make your desired sailing.
West Seattle is full of baseball talent! Another team has won a regional championship – as announced by West Seattle Baseball:
On Sunday, West Seattle Baseball‘s 11u all-star team team defeated the Spokane all-stars twice to win the PONY Northwest Regional Championship. As champions, West Seattle will represent the Northwest Region at PONY’s West Zone tournament in Walnut California beginning on Thursday. Victory in California leads to the PONY World Series in Virginia in August.
Above, from left to right, are: Jackson Sullivan, Cristian Eastey-Toledo, Joe Sullivan, Kellen Carr, Dominic Pangelinan, Aidan McCann, Isaiah Running, Reuben Gut, Isaac Ajeto, Isaac Renz, Max Debiec, Tom Gut, Will Gard, Peter Eastey. Not pictured: Nuh’kosi Roberson, Brandon Lick.
West Seattle’s tournament run also included victories over all-star teams from North Seattle, Maltby, Enumclaw, and South Sound. West Seattle fought through the loser’s bracket after an early loss to South Sound, 5-3. The rematch on Saturday night was one of the best baseball games that many parents have seen, featuring a walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th inning by Isaac Ajeto to score Jackson Sullivan from second. Sullivan slid under the tag at the plate.
“It was hands-down the most exciting youth baseball game that I have seen,” said Marc McCann, parent and WS Baseball board member. “Of course, it helps to know each of these kids and to have watched them grow as people and players. It is a very special group.”
West Seattle Baseball was founded in 1958. It serves more than 500 players, ages 4-17, and their families each year. Programs include league play, all-star programs, summer developmental leagues, summer night sandlot games, winter training programs, and a variety of camps and clinics year-round. Follow the 11-y-o team in California on West Seattle Baseball’s Twitter feed: @westseabaseball.
We’re counting down all week to Saturday’s West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade (preceded again this year by two events in which you’re welcome to participate BEFORE watching the big parade – the Float Dodger 5K [registration info here] and the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddie Parade [participation info here]).
Tonight, parade coordinators – all volunteers – met at Post 160 to rough out the parade lineup. We observed for a while to pick up some tidbits about this year’s parade. For starters: Three far-flung participating groups are among the 70-plus entries. From 700 miles away, the Calgary Roundup Band, which won “Best Marching Band” in this parade two years ago, is returning.
(2011 Sequim float in Grand Parade, framegrab from WSB video)
From 70 miles away, the Sequim Irrigation Festival float will roll down California SW during the Grand Parade for the first time in a few years.
And once again this year, from 140 miles away, the Vancouver (B.C.) Police Motorcycle Drill Team will roar along the parade route, right after SPD’s own drill team.
The parade starts at 11 am Saturday; here’s the route. More previews as the countdown continues all week! And a reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday) night, one of this year’s community honorees, Orville Rummel Community Service Award winner Judy Pickens, will be formally feted during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park, a free event featuring the West Seattle Big Band, 7 pm Tuesday on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center/Park.
(Admiral Neighborhood Assoc. rallying at 47th/Admiral in 2011, with Councilmember Tom Rasmussen)
Money for a full traffic signal at 47th/Admiral, long sought by neighborhood leaders/advocates, won final approval from the City Council in a vote this afternoon, according to this announcement. It’s part of a spending plan for money saved from other projects; as reported here last month, the council made some changes in the original spending proposal from the mayor, who had proposed a technical study of a possible signal. The plan approved today also includes another $200,000 to continue designing the Fauntleroy Green Boulevard plan. And it includes money for added school-zone speed cameras on SW Roxbury, announced last month, near Roxhill Elementary and Holy Family School.
In a related action, a proposal to formalize the policy for spending speed-camera revenue on safety improvements was referred to a council committee. And it appears there’ll be a lot of that revenue unless people start slowing down; the text of the bill notes that while it was at one point projected the existing cameras, including the one for Fauntleroy Way SW near Gatewood Elementary, might bring in $800,000 this year, the projection has been revised to about $5 million. The policy is scheduled to be discussed and possibly voted on by the Government Performance and Finance Committee at City Hall this Wednesday morning at 9:30 am. Meantime, we’ll be checking with SDOT about the timeline for the 47th/Admiral signal now that the money’s apparently on the way.
If you’ve driven along 35th SW in the Westwood area today, you might have seen the aftermath of a hit-run crash early this morning: Around 3 am, four parked vehicles were hit in the 8800 block, just north of the Gasco station at SW Henderson, by what was described as a white SUV. It was last seen going eastbound on Henderson, according to police, who searched but didn’t find it. We photographed two of the hit vehicles (above) after hearing from area residents; then while writing this story, we heard directly from Nicole, who shared the photo of a third vehicle below, explaining all four belonged to members of her family (including one who was housesitting), and hoping someone can help solve the crime:
My niece’s KIA was hit first and then pushed up and along the rest of our vehicles, a large Ford pickup truck, white Toyota wagon, and a silver Isuzu pickup truck. Unfortunately most of our closest neighbors were also out of town. We are looking for any witnesses that didn’t come forward to the police when they were here this am.
Call 911 if you have any information about the hit-and-run vehicle and/or who was in it.
Out of the WSB inbox – Seattle Parks is hoping for a big volunteer turnout at Lincoln Park on July 26th, less than two weeks away:
Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Parks Foundation, Green Seattle Partnership, EarthCorps and six corporate sponsors, including REI, have teamed up to host Love Parks Day on Friday, July 26, at Lincoln Park. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers will clean the park and remove invasive vegetation species.
The goal is to have 200 volunteers who will work with Seattle Parks and Recreation crews and Friends of Lincoln Park who have identified projects throughout this 135-acre park.
There will be incentives – read on:
We didn’t get to publish a daily preview today, but here are two meetings of note:
GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL-HIRING PROCESS: 6:30 pm tonight at the school, a representative from Seattle Public Schools HR will lead a meeting about community input and priorities regarding the hiring of the school’s next principal. SPS’s Nathan Fitzpatrick “will lead our dialogue as well as give us information/answer questions about the hiring process, the make-up of the hiring team, etc.,” according to the meeting announcement. Gatewood parents are urged to attend. (If you missed the news, here’s our July 3rd story about principal Rhonda Claytor‘s move to a school outside West Seattle.)
WEST SEATTLE WOMEN IN CHARGE: This networking group for local business owners will meet at West Seattle Office Junction (5230-B California SW) at 7 pm tonight. “We will have wine & healthy snacks ready … so bring your business cards and more snacks to share, if you’d like,” says WSOJ proprietor Christine Bartels. Here’s the Facebook event page.
(With the mayor: SW Precinct Capt. Joe Kessler, center, and Lt. Ron Smith, right)
After a tour of West Seattle with Seattle Police‘s West Seattle leadership, Mayor McGinn met the media (WSB and three TV stations showed up) this morning for a Q/A session outside the Southwest Precinct. He’s been doing this at every precinct; West Seattle was originally scheduled for July 5th, but breaking news that day elsewhere in the city forced a postponement to today. First, here’s our video of today’s entire 32-minute briefing/Q-A session with the mayor and precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler:
We asked about something that was a hot topic on the post-Independence Day Friday when this event was originally scheduled – this year’s fireworks craziness, which was not just a West Seattle hot topic (we saw it come up on multiple neighborhood sites around the city, as well as sparking regional-media coverage). The mayor agreed there would need to be “a dialogue” before next Fourth of July, but also insisted “the community” would have to step up here, since it was beyond SPD’s ability to deal with possibly thousands of violations. We also asked about the status of the SPD surveillance cameras installed from Fauntleroy to Alki to Harbor Island and beyond (our coverage archive is here), which the mayor had said would not be activated until a “thorough public vetting” had taken place. The next step, he said, would be for “protocols” to go to the City Council, at which time there would be more public vetting; no timetable so far, though originally, when we first reported on this almost six months ago, SPD was working toward a March 31 target for activation.
While robbery and burglary numbers for the Southwest Precinct were higher in the first half of this year than a year earlier, Capt. Kessler said they had dropped in recent weeks due to some key arrests. Having reported some of those arrests here, we asked the mayor if his administration works with King County on issues such as prosecution of the suspects; he said they do. (No specifics.) Capt. Kessler also mentioned that SPD has changed up its Alki patroling strategy to some degree this summer, focusing on nighttime rather than daytime, and so far, no major problems. Alki was part of the tour the mayor took before the precinct Q/A; he said he also had visited High Point to talk about issues such as those raised at last week’s community meeting (WSB coverage here) and had been to the “Nickelsville” encampment – where, he said, the population has been going up, not down (we have heard a recent estimate of 170). On our video, you’ll also hear the mayor answering some non-WS questions asked by the TV crews.
The entire visit was pegged to a followup on the Safe Communities initiative, which included a meeting here in West Seattle nine months ago (WSB coverage here). A city staffer handed out paper copies of a handout with West Seattle-specific toplines on how concerns raised at that time had been dealt with since; we’re checking to see if we can get a digital copy to attach here.
ADDED: Here’s the aforementioned report.
Every so often, we get a question about whether Admiralty House Antiques in The Admiral District is open or closed. Our somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer has usually been “yes.” But soon, the answer will be definitively “closed.” Chris Foss from Foss Estate Sales has announced that Admiralty House’s owner Fred Dau is retiring at age 97 after more than 45 years in business, and “has hired Foss Estate Sales to liquidate the inventory and all the store fixtures.” We stopped by Admiralty House (2141 California SW) this morning as Foss prepared for the sale, for a quick peek at some of the items (like those above) that Foss is cataloging. He says his photos and info will start appearing on this special webpage soon. The sale will run 8 am-4 pm Friday, July 26th, and 9 am-4 pm each of the following two days.
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