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Spotlight Stories

How will you be asked to be taxed for Seattle Parks, and what the $ would fund: Park development? Off-leash law enforcers?
October 3, 2013 11:20 am
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy approved by Seattle voters in 2008 is expiring, and that’s a major reason why the Parks Department has been working on a “Legacy Plan” including what to ask voters for next. The Legacy Plan Citizens’ Advisory Committee meets downtown tonight, and the agenda includes a briefing on potential options that could eventually wind up as part of your property-tax bill, as well as a look at proposals for how to spend the money.

First: The briefing suggests possible temporary or permanent levy-lid lifts, bonds, or creating a permanent Metropolitan Parks District – like Tacoma has – that would have its own property-taxing authority. From the city website, here are the slides for tonight’s briefing:

Seattle Parks presentation for possible voter-approved funding



If you can’t see the slides in that window, you can see the PDF version here. The committee is working toward a December deadline for making recommendations to the City Council and Mayor. Tonight they also will look at the long list of “Investment Initiatives” – what might be funded with whatever money is raised by the next voter-approved measure.

Items of potential West Seattle interest from the 37-proposal list include:

#14, $1.4 million to develop parks at sites where the city has bought or is buying the land – including three in West Seattle. Explanation excerpt:

Thanks to the support of the people of Seattle, voters approved the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in 2008. Included in the Levy were funds for new park acquisition. However, there were not funds in the 2008 Levy to develop the newly purchased properties into parks or to maintain them. Fourteen neighborhood park sites have been acquired with 2008 Levy funds but are land-banked – held in their current condition. The land-banked sites are throughout the City, many in some of the densest neighborhoods, experiencing the greatest population growth. The sites need to be developed to become true assets to their neighborhoods, and to keep faith with the voters who supported their acquisition as park land.

(The three in West Seattle would be 48th/Charlestown, the 40th SW site in The Junction, and the site north of Morgan Junction Park.)

#26, which would include funding 2 new park rangers and 2 animal-control officers:

The most frequent complaints Parks receives from our park users are about dogs off leash. Additional support from dedicated Animal Control officers is also needed to respond to dog off-leash issues in our parks. Park Rangers and Animal Control officers would work outside the downtown parks with special focus on random patrols of parks where there have been complaints of dogs off leash or where there is observed ongoing damage to turf, trails or natural areas by dogs off leash. Park Rangers and Animal Control officers would work in cooperation to provide education and solicit compliance of the leash law.

There is a public-comment period at tonight’s meeting, which is at 6 pm at Parks HQ downtown (100 Dexter Ave. N.).

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Police investigating possible child-luring attempt in West Seattle
October 3, 2013 9:34 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

We have just confirmed that Seattle Police are investigating a reported child-luring attempt in West Seattle. We found out about it thanks to a Hope Lutheran School parent who late last night forwarded us a parent alert sent by the school on Wednesday:

Yesterday afternoon around 3:40 PM, a Hope female student was walking along Oregon Street between 41st Ave. and 42nd Ave., heading to her car while her mother was inside the school office. A male driver pulled over in his car and told her he was supposed to pick her up and take her home. The student immediately ran away and back to her mother. The police were contacted by the mother at home but we don’t have a lot of details besides the fact that it was a male driver. …

We contacted SPD this morning to ask for a copy of the report, which we have just received. It says the student who reported this is 10 years old. The officer talked with her at her family’s home and later wrote:

Somewhere between the hours of 1530-1600 [on Tuesday, October 1, the child] was walking along SW Oregon between 42nd SW and 41st when she heard a voice from a car parked along the north side of the street.

[The child] said she heard a male voice from inside the car call out to her saying, ‘Hey little girl, come get in the car with me. I’ll take you home.’ [The child] told me that she stated ‘No’ to the male and ran down the hill to her mother’s car, locking herself inside. [The child] said she told her mother about the incident just a few minutes later when she came out to the car.

[The mother] told me that she walked back the same route [the child] had gone and saw no one unusual.

According to the report, the child was unable to provide any description of the man or the vehicle, saying that she only heard his voice. There is no indication whether this has any link to the as-yet-unsolved flasher incidents last month, two of which happened near Holy Rosary, which is one block north of Hope.

(P.S. Here’s the SPD page with information on safety advice for families, including what to teach kids about staying safe.)

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West Seattle Thursday: Olympic peek; check the calendar
October 3, 2013 9:11 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Thursday: Olympic peek; check the calendar
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather | WS miscellaneous

What looks to be a busy news day is off and running, but first: The morning began with a text (206-293-6302 any time) about a possible whale sighting off Me-Kwa-Mooks. Co-publisher Patrick Sand headed down the hill to look; no marine mammals in sight, but he did catch the sun turning Olympic Mountains peaks pink, briefly. So we’re sharing the photo but asking that for today’s calendar preview, you go directly to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – several items of note, including West Seattle High School Family Curriculum Night, the fall dinner benefiting Transitional Resources, and more – but we’ve got to get on to the news of the day. Each calendar item leads to a standalone web page with map and details – just click the plus sign at the right side of the entry, and then the “more” link on the lower right. Thanks!

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday on the move
October 3, 2013 7:33 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
7:33 AM: “Generally, things are moving better than they have all week.” So says WSDOT via Twitter, a regional observation, but still, an optimistic assessment here as we approach the heart of the commute.

HIGHWAY 99/VIADUCT CLOSURES THIS WEEKEND: Yet another reminder- both directions of Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct will close this weekend between the West Seattle Bridge and Battery Street Tunnel, 5 am-6 pm Saturday and 6 am-6 pm Sunday, for the semiannual safety inspection, and that will coincide with a weekendlong closure north of the BST for utility work – closure details here.

7:42 AM: Downtown surface-street problem, pointed out in the comment section – a crash at 6th and Pine is tying things up. Westbound Pine is closed, one northbound lane of 6th is open, per KING 5’s traffic reporter Tracy Taylor.

8:25 AM: If you ride Sound Transit Route 560, ST says a crash in Bellevue might cause delays.

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Start telling your tale: Janice Harper teaching memoir-writing series Thursday nights at Log House Museum
October 2, 2013 10:23 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle news

The cheers, the tears, the years … Your own story is well worth telling, and a West Seattle-writer is ready to help you figure out how to tell it. Tomorrow (Thursday) night is the start of a series of memoir-writing classes to be taught by Janice Harper at the Log House Museum – and she has major cred, with a doctorate in cultural anthropology and a resumé as an author, ghost-writer, and contributor to publications including Huffington Post and Psychology Today. It’s a drop-in series, 6-8 pm each Thursday, so if you can’t make tomorrow night, maybe next Thursday. Or if you’re interested in private coaching, that’s available too. The Southwest Seattle Historical Society will benefit from a portion of the class fees; full details on those, and to how to register, are on the SWSHS website.

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Update: Fire callout in 9200 block of Delridge Way
October 2, 2013 7:32 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

7:32 PM: Seattle Fire says the big callout to the 9200 block of Delridge Way SW is for a basement fire, and that everyone is out OK. More to come.

7:51 PM: Our crew at the scene says firefighters report the smoke actually came from a piece of equipment that overheated in a big way – equipment used to put designs on T-shirts, we are told. Lots of smoke, no flames. No injuries.

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Federal shutdown side note: Furloughed worker volunteers with WestSide Baby
October 2, 2013 5:51 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

From Kari at WestSide Baby:

Federal worker Nicole Jabaily made the best of her first full day of furlough by spending the morning volunteering at WestSide Baby. Pictured here with WSB regular volunteer Nancy Ross, Nicole was a welcome addition to the regular Wednesday morning team. WestSide Baby is always looking for help—furloughed workers included! The best way to find out about upcoming volunteer opportunities is to fill out the volunteer application on the WSB website: http://www.westsidebaby.org/volunteer-application

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PACK YOUR BAG! Every day this month, 1 simple step to take
October 2, 2013 3:11 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Preparedness | West Seattle news

October has a lot of identities. A big one for people in our area: Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month.

Here at WSB, preparedness is one of our favorite topics. It’s something YOU can do, without spending a lot of time or money – little steps that could make a big difference if something major happened.

West Seattle is fortunate to have the area’s premier grass-roots preparedness group, West Seattle Be Prepared, which launched an incredibly info-packed website years ago, and continues to work on initiatives to help people around the peninsula be prepared. And WSBP’s Cindi Barker is working with WSB this month on daily advice that will get you from here to the vital preparedness step of having a packed “go back.”

For inspiration, we’ll be reminding you that earthquakes – the most likely kind of disaster around here – can happen anywhere. WSBP’s home page is tracking all the 3.0-or-more quakes around our country this month. Scroll down westseattlebeprepared.org to see the list of what’s been recorded today alone! 3.0 isn’t a megaquake but it’s enough to be a wakeup call.

So jump into the spirit with us. PACK YOUR BAG! For starters, today’s step to take – just GET the bag. As Cindi puts it:

Today, find a backpack (for 2 people) or suitcase (for 4 people). Look around in your garage or attic for one you haven’t used in a while, or check out thrift stores for inexpensive ones. The West Seattle Senior Center Thrift Store had a 50% off sale on luggage the other day; might still be going on!

We’re going to designate one too; we’ve always had a “go bag” for our news-producing gear (laptop, extra power, portable Internet, etc.) but not one with other basics. So we’ll build along with you. Sometime tonight when you’re at home – find that suitcase. Maybe even send us a pic, so we can publish it as inspiration! (editor@westseattleblog.com) And watch tomorrow for what to start putting IN it. If you miss a day, this info will all be in our archives for preparedness – westseattleblog.com/category/preparedness.

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New renderings for 4435 35th SW show proposed ‘hillclimb’
October 2, 2013 1:33 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Development | Triangle | West Seattle news

With eight days until the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting about the mixed-use development planned at 4435 35th SW, its new “packet” is out with renderings and other information for the board to consider, publicly viewable via the city Department of Planning and Development website. You can see it in its entirety here; above is a rendering by architects GGLO showing a feature that sparked some buzz at the previous meeting in June (WSB coverage here), a “hillclimb” on the south side of the site, going up to other parts of The Triangle and leading toward The Junction. According to the packet, the project is currently planned for ~159 residential units, 153 underground parking spaces (it’s in an area where the city does not require any parking at all because of nearby frequent transit), and more than 12,000 square feet of commercial/retail area. This site originally came to the board in 2009, then went on hold, changing architects and developers (now Trinsic) before returning with a new design proposal earlier this year. The Design Review meeting is set for 6:30 pm October 10th at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon); as always, the meeting will include a public-comment period.

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Green West Seattle Halloween: Costume Swap at City Mouse
October 2, 2013 11:02 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Holidays | West Seattle news

Is your closet home to one or more Halloween costumes from years – and sizes – past? City Mouse Studio and Store in The Junction has your Halloween solution – proprietor Donna is participating in National Costume Swap Day on October 12th, as part of the “Green Halloween” movement: “As per their website, swapping half the costumes kids wear at Halloween would reduce landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the weight of 2,500 midsize cars!”

Here’s how the costume swap will work: From now through October 11th, drop off gently used kids’ Halloween costumes at City Mouse (4218 SW Alaska) – which is open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10-6 and Sundays 10-5 – and get a token to use to pick up another costume there on Saturday, October 12th, starting at 10 am.

OCTOBER 10 UPDATE: Donna says you can also just bring your swappable costume on Saturday morning and swap on the spot, rather than making two trips.

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West Seattle Kiwanis announces free Seattle Symphony concert
October 2, 2013 10:27 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Kiwanis announces free Seattle Symphony concert
 |   Kiwanis Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(January 2011 photo)
The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle has just sent word of another free West Seattle community concert by the Seattle Symphony: 7:30 pm October 11th (one week from Friday) – second one this year:

Stilian Kirov, conductor
Alexander Lu, piano
Seattle Symphony

MOZART: Divertimento in D major
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major
TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for Strings

Chief Sealth International High School
2600 SW Thistle

This concert is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s Family, School & Community programs, which are supported by 4Culture, ArtsWA, The Boeing Company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation, The Clowes Fund, Inc., Fales Foundation Trust, Elizabeth McGraw Foundation, Peach Foundation, Peg and Rick Young Foundation, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Snoqualmie Tribe, Ten Grands Seattle and Wyman Youth Trust.

No RSVP required – just show up!

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West Seattle Wednesday: Youth-basketball signups; ex-substations’ future; ‘The Taming’; landmark nomination…
October 2, 2013 9:35 am
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

West Seattle’s mysterious Golden Pheasant has surfaced again! Joan Miller shared the photo this morning, saying that after the bird appeared in her yard near Camp Long on Tuesday, a neighbor told her about the April sighting mentioned here on WSB. Escaped pet? We may never know. Anyway, today’s calendar items are not so mysterious … highlights include:

BASKETBALL SIGNUPS: It’s the second day of basketball signups for youth basketball at Seattle Parks and Recreation facilities. $65/child, with practices starting in late November, games starting first week in January, ages 8-17. See the West Seattle Community Centers‘ combined fall brochure for more info.

LIBRARIES CLOSED: As mentioned here yesterday, all Seattle Public Library facilities around the city are closed today for an in-service day. They will reopen tomorrow.

‘LISTENING MOTHERS’ GROUP: Eight-week class for mothers of babies up to 6 months old begins today at The Cove School – details in our calendar listing. 1-2:30 pm. (3430 California SW)

LANDMARK CONSIDERATION: The city Landmarks Board meeting at 3:30 pm today downtown includes consideration of a landmark nomination for the 61-year-old building on a future development site at 3219 California SW:

The notice is here; the nomination documentation is here. (700 5th Ave., 40th floor)

MAYOR NICKELS, WSB EDITOR ON ‘CIVIC COCKTAIL’: If you’re going to be downtown this evening and interested in a discussion of civic issues, consider being part of the audience for “Civic Cocktail” at the Palace Ballroom, doors at 5:30/event at 6 pm, with former Mayor Greg Nickels on the dignitaries’ panel and your editor on the journalist panel. CityClub co-presents “Civic Cocktail,” and requests advance registration – details on their website. (2100 5th Avenue)

DANCE WITH LAUREN PETRIE: The popular musician’s next dance is 6-8 pm tonight at the Senior Center of West Seattle – details in our calendar listing. (California/Oregon)

CITY LIGHT PROPERTIES HEARING: Got an opinion on what Seattle City Light should do with the former substation sites on this map?

Tonight’s the one and only formal public hearing in West Seattle before City Light makes recommendations that will eventually go to the City Council. More info on the sites is here; speak out between 6:30 and 8:30 pm at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)

SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: 6:30 pm at Southwest Teen Life Center, reps from community councils and other key organizations around western West Seattle – which the city designates the Southwest District – meet, with an agenda including City Councilmember Tim Burgess talking about the city-budget process (he chairs the Budget Committee). Everyone’s welcome. (2801 SW Thistle)

WEST SEATTLE WOMEN IN CHARGE: Fall meeting tonight for this organization geared toward local women who own/run businesses – details in our calendar listing. 7 pm at Mind Unwind. (2206 California SW)

‘THE TAMING’ OPENS AT ARTSWEST: Lauren Gunderson‘s “The Taming“ opens tonight, in a co-world-premiere presentation; curtain’s at 7:30 pm. (4711 California SW)

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday watch
October 2, 2013 6:07 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:07 AM: Welcome to Wednesday! Now that the weekend is in view, we need to resume reminders about this weekend’s Highway 99 closures – both directions between the West Seattle Bridge and Battery Street Tunnel, 5 am-6 pm Saturday and 6 am-6 pm Sunday, for the semiannual safety inspection, plus a weekendlong closure north of the BST for utility work – details on all of the above can be found here.

10:28 AM: Another crash on Roxbury – 9th and Roxbury this time. The call closed out fairly quickly on the Seattle Fire 911 log, but a texter says three vehicles were involved and police were directing traffic.

1:17 PM: Something’s up on southbound 99 – it’s closed at the Battery Street Tunnel.

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High-school sports: Chief Sealth-WSHS volleyball showdown
October 2, 2013 3:59 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Once again this year, it was more than just the classic crosstown rivalry in Tuesday night’s volleyball showdown between Chief Sealth International High School and visiting West Seattle High School – it was also a battle between the top two teams in their division. After 4 games, the Wildcats emerged with the win, three games to one, but that final game was especially hard fought, point by point:

More game scenes and notes, ahead:

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Motorcycle rider to hospital after late-night crash in Arbor Heights
October 2, 2013 1:58 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news

Thanks to the reader who texted photos from a late-night motorcycle crash in the 11000 block of 35th SW in Arbor Heights (map) and reports the rider “hit some mailboxes on the right side of the road and then crashed,” apparently after swerving to avoid a trash can in the road. The photo above shows those mailboxes. Radio communications with medics after the crash described the rider as 41 years old and believed to have been traveling at high speed at the time of the crash.

Via Twitter, SFD verified that the motorcycle rider was in stable condition with arm fractures when taken to the hospital.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Taggers; burglars; loot or not?
October 2, 2013 1:11 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Once the weather calmed Monday night, graffiti vandals got busy. We noticed big tags on a vacant building along the Fauntleroy Way curve in Fairmount Springs; not far away, Chuck reports:

I was dismayed to find a spray-paint tag on my property on Graham St and 44th, just off California … I’ve not been tagged in the 20-plus years I’ve lived here, so it was startling.

Do report graffiti vandalism (and then paint it out as fast as you can) – you can even file an online report here.

Next, a burglary report, and the list of what’s been reported in the past week, since it’s been more than a week since our last trend check. Sheli e-mailed us that her home at Lander/Walnut was broken into around 3:30 pm Monday, adding, “3 witnesses saw 5 young boys looking suspicious. High school kids? Knocked in my whole door, stole iPads, before alarm was tripped.”
That’s one of 14 burglaries listed in police reports between last Tuesday (9/24) and this Monday (9/30):

From the SPD police-reports map, the others (where the icons on the map are “2” or “3” it does NOT mean two or three burglaries, the other incidents were different crime categories):

1400 block of Palm SW, Tuesday 9/24
5900 block of 38th SW, Tuesday 9/24
8800 block of 36th SW, Tuesday 9/24
8100 block of 9th SW, Tuesday 9/24
5900 block of Beach Drive, Wednesday 9/25
3300 block of SW 106th, Wednesday 9/25
3700 block of SW Cloverdale, Thursday 9/26
3500 block of SW 105th, Friday 9/27
8400 block of 30th SW, Saturday 9/28
7700 block of 12th SW, Sunday 9/29
8600 block of 13th SW, Sunday 9/29
3000 block of Admiral Way, Monday 9/30
8100 block of 14th SW, Monday 9/30
7200 block 17th SW, Monday 9/30

Next, a car prowl and a request that you be on the lookout for the loot:
Read More

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West Seattle weddings: Congratulations, David and Lee!
October 1, 2013 9:41 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people | West Seattle weddings

Here’s the first wedding announcement we’ve received in a while:

Longtime West Seattle residents David Pelton and Lee Kramer were married on August 24th at their church, Admiral Congregational UCC in North Admiral, in a Hawaiian-themed celebration. Together for almost 22 years, they were delighted to share the happy occasion with family and friends from Seattle and across the country. A dinner reception at South Seattle Community College’s Brockey Center followed the ceremony.

(L-R, that’s David and Lee.)

Wedding to announce? Text/photo, editor@westseattleblog.com

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Local physical-therapy clinics collecting for West Seattle Food Bank
October 1, 2013 8:42 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Health | How to help | West Seattle news

(Thanks to Highline Physical Therapy for the photo!)
October is here and that means six local physical-therapy clinics hope to fill boxes like that one with nonperishable-food donations for the West Seattle Food Bank, whose Judi Yazzolino sends the announcement:

Sound Physical Therapy has challenged other participating West Seattle physical-therapy clinics to unite for the month of October in a goodnatured competition to celebrate National Physical Therapy Month with food donations to the West Seattle Food Bank.

The participating PT clinics are:

Biojunction Sports Therapy – 3729 California Ave. SW Ste 1A
Highline Physical Therapy – 4700 42nd SW, Ste 510
Life in Balance Physical Therapy – 5410 California SW, Ste 101
Kinetic Physical Therapy – 4828 California SW
Sound Physical Therapy – 3823 Delridge Way SW
Southwest Hand Therapy – 4621 35th SW

Please stop by one of the above clinics and drop off your donation! The Food Bank will be weighing each clinic’s donations throughout the month and let you know which clinic will be victorious, but we know for sure that our West Seattle neighbors in need will be the real winners!

Find the link to the Food Bank’s “wish list” by going here.

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Photos: Sports, medicine, media mix in West Seattle for ‘Jocks vs. Docs’ raising breast-cancer awareness
October 1, 2013 5:56 pm
|    Comments Off on Photos: Sports, medicine, media mix in West Seattle for ‘Jocks vs. Docs’ raising breast-cancer awareness
 |   Health | West Seattle news

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that’s what brought the “Jocks vs. Docs” event to Admiral Safeway this morning. Above, the overview, as balloons decked the checkstands where sports stars, health experts, and regional-media personalities rallied for a bag-off and photo ops.

Recognize football’s Golden Tate (Seahawks) and Warren Moon (Hall of Fame), Olympic swimming gold medalist Megan Jendrick, and soccer’s Kasey Keller in the lineup? Closeups, and more about the event, ahead:

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West Seattle Traffic Watch: 99, Roxbury crashes
October 1, 2013 5:12 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Two crashes that might complicate your afternoon commute: Amanda sends word of another 8th/Roxbury crash, on the westbound side of Roxbury, not on the 911 log so apparently no major injuries, but she says there’s quite a backup. And SFD crews are responding to a crash on southbound 99 parallel with the stadiums. Complicating matters – it’s starting to rain again. Traffic updates as we get them.

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West Seattle development: New buildings planned for 4505 SW Oregon in The Junction, 1606 California SW in North Admiral
October 1, 2013 2:05 pm
|      59 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Two new early-stage development proposals have appeared in city files:

4505 42ND SW: On the southwest corner of 42nd/Oregon, across from nearly complete Oregon 42, there’s a brand-new proposal for a seven-story mixed-use building. The 7,000-square-foot site currently holds a hedge-ringed 105-year-old house (top photo) owned by West Seattle entrepreneur Leon Capelouto, owner/developer of Capco Plaza (QFC, Petco, Altamira Apartments) one block south at 42nd and Alaska. The architects of record are ever-busier West Seattle-founded Nicholson Kovalchick. The early-stage proposal described in DPD records outlines a seven-story building with 55 residential units over two floors with 10,000 sf of retail/office space and one level of underground parking with 14 spaces. The NC3-85-zoned site is immediately north of the Junction Association‘s free-parking lot, across the alley from the Senior Center of West Seattle, and less than half a block south of the planned site of 78-unit Junction Flats at 4433 42nd SW. This project will require Design Review; no meeting date are yet – initial documentation was filed with the city just two weeks ago.

On to North Admiral:

1606 CALIFORNIA SW: The 60-year-old four-plex on the southeast corner of California/Seattle and the 111-year-old house to its south would be replaced by a 16-unit apartment building under a plan that’s also just been filed with the city in the past two weeks. Roger Cayce is listed as owner/developer, and the architecture firm is Roger Newell AIA. The site plan in city files mentions three floors and a below-grade garage, in keeping with the zoning here, which is LR (lowrise) 3.

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You can help: Revegetate Schmitz Park at ground level
October 1, 2013 1:08 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(That’s Schmitz Park in the center of pilot/photographer Long Bach Nguyen‘s 2012 image)
From above, it’s an oasis of unbroken lush green. At ground level, parts of Schmitz Preserve Park need help – and that means you. Shared by Seattle Parks:

Seattle Parks and Recreation is undertaking a project to revegetate damaged areas in the Schmitz Preserve stream corridor. Activities will include planting native plants, erosion control and fencing off redundant foot trails that crisscross Schmitz Creek. The project will help conserve one of Seattle’s rare old-growth forests while supporting the overall environmental stewardship goals of the urban forest system. Schmitz Preserve Park is located in West Seattle at 5551 SW Admiral Way.

Friends of Schmitz Preserve, a group of dedicated community members, are key partners in this preservation and restoration project in the park.

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The WSBeat: Trash-talk threats; spooked suspects; more…
October 1, 2013 10:56 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police | WSBeat

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

This edition of the WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled in recent days by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”

*In Highland Park on the 25th, a citizen who officers say they know to be “untruthful, profane, and irrational” threatened Waste Management workers with “gunplay” after being frustrated by their presence in the alley near his residence. An officer stood by until they could complete their route; the officer also provided anti-harassment information.

*Around 11 am on the 27th, two would-be burglars were rattling the door of a residence in the 3500 block of SW 105th and were startled when a resident appeared in a window. They ran off an outer deck, knocking over a patio chair. Within hours of this incident, two nearby residences were burglarized.

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