West Seattle, Washington
08 Wednesday
Five reader reports to share today in West Seattle Crime Watch: First, Stephanie‘s car was stolen overnight and she hopes you will watch for it:
I’d like to report a stolen Subaru Outback from Beach Drive SW near Me-Kwa-Mooks Park. The theft happened between 9 pm last night and 8 am this morning. It’s a dark red car, license AJT2684.
(SUNDAY UPDATE: Stephanie reports her car’s been found – in Everett.)
(back to original Saturday report) Next – two reader-report links from the WSB Forums, in case you can help but haven’t seen them yet – the search for a hit-run driver, and the search for whomever owns a most-likely-stolen bike dumped in a local yard.
Finally, two car-prowl reports from earlier this week, which got lost in our queue while Crime Watch was overtaken for several days with high-profile incidents – read on:
SATURDAY, 11:41 AM: You have lots of time left – till 3 pm! – to donate food and/or money TODAY to the West Seattle Food Bank, with the help of West Seattle Kiwanis members like Linda Cox, shown here with local Key Club members helping out. As noted in our daily highlights, dropoff spots include PCC Natural Markets (California/Stevens), where we photographed this team, West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy), Metropolitan Market (42nd/Admiral), and the Junction QFC (42nd/Alaska).
MONDAY MORNING P.S. – Via the WS Food Bank’s Facebook page, we’ve learned the drive brought in “1800 pounds of food and $773.95!”
Also leading their divisions in the Metro League this spring high-school-sports season: Chief Sealth International High School‘s softball team and soccer team, both notching wins on Friday.
Per the soccer standings in The Seattle Times (WSB partner), the Seahawks are undefeated in the Metro League’s Sound Division, after Friday’s 9-0 win over Rainier Beach. Next game is against West Seattle HS, 4 pm Tuesday at Southwest Athletic Complex.
The Seahawks softball team, meantime, are shown in The Times’ standings with one league loss; their Friday win was 14-4 over Sammamish, per the @SealthAthletics Twitter feed. Next game: 3:30 pm Wednesday vs. Nathan Hale, at Meadowbrook.
West Seattle High School‘s baseball team is atop its division and celebrating its latest win, 11-1 over Nathan Hale on Friday afternoon. Thanks again to Greg Slader for game photos and summary:
The varsity baseball team returned home for a rematch against Nathan Hale after Wednesday’s loss. Ben Wexler (#28, top photo) pitched a complete game (six innings) with five strikeouts and one earned run. Graham French (#25, photo below) added to the offense with a double and two runs scored as the team hit very well and scored 11 runs in six innings.
Next WSHS baseball game is also at home, so it’s your next chance to go cheer the team on: Monday against O’Dea, 3:30 pm at Hiawatha (next to the school).
(Male red crossbill photographed recently @ Fauntleroy Park by Mark Wangerin)
Despite dire predictions, there’s blue sky out there now as Saturday gets into high gear. Here are some of the highlights for today/tonight:
TRAFFIC REMINDER: Lane closures on I-5 northbound, just south of West Seattle, all weekend – WSDOT‘s infopage is here.
HELP OUT IN LINCOLN PARK: Friends of Lincoln Park, as previewed last night, is working 9 to noon (and you can join late), removing invasive plants.
KIWANIS FOOD DRIVE: 9 am-3 pm, the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle will have members and Key Club students outside four local grocery stores, collecting food and money for the West Seattle Food Bank. Find them at WSB sponsors Metropolitan Market (42nd/Admiral), PCC Natural Markets (California/Stevens), and West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy) and at QFC (42nd/Alaska).
HELP OUT IN NORTH DELRIDGE: Also previewed last night – the ND Neighborhood Council‘s Beautification Committee takes on the 23rd/Juneau staircase 10 am-noon – details, map here.
NOT WEST SEATTLE BUT – IT’S YOUR CITY HALL TOO! It’s the annual open house at Seattle City Hall downtown, 10 am-2 pm. Here’s the lineup of events – with West Seattle involvement including demonstrations by South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) culinary students.
WEST SEATTLE BEE GARDEN WORK PARTY: Lots of community help is needed with the final preparations/construction for this unique new West Seattle feature (here’s our recent story about it). 10 am-2 pm, prep work is planned today – find out more here (including a link for participation in future work parties if you can’t do it today; also, if you can contribute $, here’s how).
FIND OUT ABOUT VOLUNTEERING TO HELP WITH HISTORY: 11 am-1 pm at the Log House Museum, it’s this month’s introductory session for would-be Southwest Seattle Historical Society volunteers. Our preview has details. (61st/Stevens)
WEST SEATTLE RUNNER ANNIVERSARY SALE / WEST SEATTLE 5K SIGNUP EVENT: The West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) third-anniversary sale continues today and tomorrow – and today from noon-4 pm there’s a special incentive to drop by: Sign up for this year’s West Seattle 5K (co-sponsored by WSB), and get the early-registration discount, which is no longer available online.
CAMP LONG CHALLENGE COURSE: 1-5 pm today, visit West Seattle’s own Camp Long Environmental Learning Center and be among the first to check out the new Hub and Spoke high (ropes) course, as well as getting a closer look at the low course, and joining the 3 pm ribbon-cutting celebration. Here’s our preview from earlier this week. (5200 35th SW)
WOMEN-ONLY SWIMS/LESSONS START AT SW POOL: When Mayor McGinn visited West Seattle recently, his second stop, after the much-covered Admiral District tour, was Southwest Pool, to join in a celebration of the expanded women-only swimming/lessons program (here’s our coverage of the event). Today’s the official start of the program – see the 2:30-4:30 pm schedule here. (2801 SW Thistle)
CHIEF SEALTH BASEBALL DINNER/AUCTION: 5-7 pm in the Sealth Galleria, spaghetti dinner and silent auction to raise money for the baseball program – tickets available (cash/checks) at the Galleria door. (2600 SW Thistle)
**Saturday night note: canceled for rain; will be rescheduled** OWLING IN SCHMITZ PARK: Head out on an adventure with West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler, 7-9 pm – details here.
WSHS MUSICAL: Another chance at 7:30 pm to catch the West Seattle High School Drama Club‘s spring musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” in the WSHS Theater. (3000 California SW)
‘NEXT FALL’ FINALE: 7:30 pm, it’s your last chance to see ArtsWest‘s current production. (4711 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC! See the calendar listings here – from alt-pop at C & P Coffee, jazz at La Romanza Bistro, and 2 bands at Feedback Lounge (all WSB sponsors) to the second night of the Mighty Wurlitzer Spectacular at Kenyon Hall, the monthly midnight “Rocky Horror” show @ The Admiral, and more.
In case you’re still planning your Saturday:
HELP CLEAN UP LINCOLN PARK: Friends of Lincoln Park could use as many hands as it can get, removing invasive plants. Meet at 9 am (or look for directions if you come late) – details on our calendar.
HELP CLEAN UP NORTH DELRIDGE: The ND Neighborhood Council‘s Beautification Committee also welcomes helping hands, as it tackles the 23rd/Juneau staircase Saturday morning, 10 am-noon – details on our calendar.
KIWANIS FOOD DRIVE @ GROCERY STORES: The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle will have members and Key Club students outside four local grocery stores 9 am-3 pm Saturday, collecting food and money for the West Seattle Food Bank (remember, donations go further till the end of this month) – if you’re going shopping, buy something extra and drop it off. You’ll see them at Metropolitan Market, PCC Natural Markets, and West Seattle Thriftway (all WSB sponsors) and at QFC in The Junction.
WESTSIDE BABY DONATIONS: Remember the urgent call for help earlier this week? Lots of great folks are stepping up – including businesses, with two WSB sponsors offering incentives to donate:
Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW) offers a free 8-ounce Americano through Sunday if you drop off any of the items listed here.
Firefly Café and Creperie (4160 California SW) is accepting diaper and car-seat donations for WS Baby through the end of April. For each of the first 50 car seats that come in, Firefly will donate a package of diapers.
And WSB Forums member Gretchen is offering help in getting donations to WS Baby if you have something to donate and no way to get it there.
For the past few hours, we’ve been working to get details about an Admiral-area arrest that several people tipped us to/asked about, 
and finally have just spoken with police. They arrested a man who allegedly was working a residential neighborhood, going door to door claiming to be selling magazines, possibly as a sports-team fundraiser. Finally, at one house, police say, a woman was asleep on the couch when repeated doorbell-ringing woke her up. She answered the door, and the man tried to claim he was a neighbor, started talking about baseball, and as she tried to close the door, he put his foot in the door to try to stop her. She pushed back and he left; police found him at 45th and Admiral. Since he didn’t actually break into the house, they ultimately could only book him into jail for investigation of criminal trespassing, but the sergeant with whom we spoke says the suspect did not have anything in his possession indicating he was a legitimate door-to-door solicitor.
(February aerial of Roxhill Park – skatepark at left, castle in middle – by Long Bach Nguyen)
The date is finally set for the official dedication of the two new features at Roxhill Park – its revamped play area featuring community-built Roxhill Castle, and the new Roxhill Skatepark. Seattle Parks has just announced a celebration for 11 am-2 pm on Saturday, April 20th, with skate giveaways and entertainment promised. We’ll be checking to see if it will have a “soft open” before then, as is usually the case.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Robert Gallagher knows what he’s walking into as the next principal of Lafayette Elementary:
“I’m making a commitment to be there for the long haul,” he vows.
In a conversation with WSB this week, days after his appointment was announced last Friday, he said he’s well aware of hurt feelings at the school, following two years of changes since Lafayette’s seven-year principal Virginia Turner moved on.
That projection of a future bioswale/raingarden-added Westwood/Sunrise Heights block comes from a slide deck that will be shown to the Seattle City Council‘s Transportation Committee next Tuesday morning (April 9). This “green stormwater infrastructure” plan to reduce combined-sewer overflows at the Barton Pump Station is a county project, but it’s happening in city-owned right-of-way, such as the planting strip in the rendering, so the committee will be asked to give “conceptual approval” to the project. Public comment is on the agenda before the meeting’s business/action items including this one; the meeting is at 9:30 am Tuesday (April 9) in City Council chambers at City Hall downtown.
P.S. The latest project update on the county website identifies 15 blocks for construction of 93 bioswales and 15 underground drains, with four more to be monitored for possible later addition. Most are in the north part of the project area:
Construction is scheduled to start next year.
If you can spare some time for a survey or two, both the City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools are asking for your help:
CITY’S TECHNOLOGY SURVEY: The City of Seattle is asking questions about your use of everything from Internet access to mobile devices to TV, to try to understand how its citizenry is using technology. You can take the city’s tech survey here.
DISTRICT’S SECOND ‘STRATEGIC PLAN’ SURVEY: If you’re interested in helping Seattle Public Schools shape its goals – and the verbiage that communicates them – take this one. It’s the second community survey that’s been offered as part of the district’s creation of a new Strategic Plan.
(WSB photo, May 2012)
With a month and a half to go until Alki’s car-free day, aka Seattle Summer Streets – coming up May 19th, right after the West Seattle 5K wraps up – one beach resident says the event needs more fun. So Guy Olson is hoping to inspire others by organizing a two-part event that he hopes will turn into something big:
I have 2 DJ’s, one band, and “The Bubble Man” committed so far. My home has a large balcony in the heart of Alki Beach, overlooking the beach, in the middle of the nearby bars/restaurants, and the avenue. My plan is to have all the performers perform from the driveway directly next door and the bubble artist on my patio/deck/balcony.
And that’s just for starters. For the next part of the plan, you, your family/friends/kids/schoolmates/etc. are invited to join in:
The biggest idea, which I will need the most help with, is: “West Seattle’s Largest Costumed Bicycle Parade.”
This parade will begin at 1:00 pm on May 19, 2013. The parade will begin at 63rd and Alki Avenue continuing to Seacrest Park on Harbor Avenue and then looping back to El Chupacabra on Alki Avenue. This will be the “finish line” and the place for our post-parade party. … I’m hoping for a huge turnout and to make this “Alki Car-Free Day” a very memorable experience for everyone I possibly can.
So mark your calendar, and think sun – as noted at the end of last year’s WSB report, we haven’t really seen it since the first “car-free day” in 2008! – and if you have a bike, be ready to join Guy’s parade.
P.S. As noted on the city’s official Summer Streets page, citizen-organized events like this are welcomed – so if you have an idea, get going with it too!
SATURDAY NOTE: Guy clarifies that this is being planned in conjunction with the Alki Beach Creeps Bicycle Club – you’ll remember them for the big cleanup at Constellation Park last month.
The photo is from our visit to the WSHS Theater last night just before the first performance of the school’s spring student musical – which is part of the event that headlines today’s calendar preview:
‘TASTE OF THE ARTS’ WSHS BENEFIT: Starting with art, appetizers, and beverages at 6 pm in the St. John’s Church hall next door (3050 California SW) and moving to the West Seattle High School theater (3000 California SW) at 8 pm for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” it’s this year’s “Taste of the Arts” WSHS benefit. We just checked and it looks like you can still get the $20 advance discount ticket online – go here. Otherwise, it’s $25 at the door.
Also today/tonight:
TRAFFIC ALERT: 8 pm tonight, the I-5 northbound lane closures just south of the West Seattle Bridge begin for a second weekend. Here’s the official WSDOT alert.
WEST SEATTLE RUNNER’S 3RD ANNIVERSARY SALE: Today through Sunday, West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its third anniversary. From proprietor Tim McConnell: “All regularly priced merchandise is 20% off. And that means everything; shoes, apparel, and accessories. We will be having drawings, giveaways, and other goodies all weekend.” (California/Charlestown)
HIGHLAND PARK ‘CORNER BAR’: Tonight, spring on over to the HP Improvement Club for this month’s edition of the Corner Bar – all ages welcome, starts at 6 pm. (12th/Holden)
BIN 41 CELEBRATES 3RD ANNIVERSARY: Tonight’s tasting at Bin 41 wine shop in The Junction, 6-7:30 pm, is also a third-anniversary party – local winemaker Darby English will be there. Details on the Bin 41 website. (4707 California SW)
‘FIRST FRIDAY’ AT FEEDBACK LOUNGE: 5-7 pm, the Rotary Club of West Seattle invites you to stop by Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) for their monthly combination of fun and service, this time focused on ShelterBox:
ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families who are affected by disasters, at the time when they need it the most. All the equipment needed for one family to survive for that critical time after a disaster is included in one box, a ShelterBox. Come out and meet your local Rotary members and our own ShelterBox team.
(5612 California SW)
SEE & HEAR THE MIGHTY WURLITZER: Kenyon Hall‘s amazing organ is in action tonight at 7:30 pm – as detailed here. (7904 35th SW)
SECOND-TO-LAST NIGHT FOR ‘NEXT FALL’: 7:30 pm at ArtsWest – details in our calendar listing. (4711 California SW)
COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY REGISTRATION CONTINUES: 45 garage sales signed up in three days for the 9th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coming up Saturday, May 11th, coordinated/presented by WSB again this year. Got stuff to sell during the big day of sales on May 11th? Join the fun and register now!
P.S. The WSB West Seattle Event Calendar has the FULL list of what’s up today/tonight!
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Approaching the heart of the commute, nothing unusual on the major routes from West Seattle. Previewing the weekend:
I-5 LANE CLOSURES: Again this weekend, starting late tonight, lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed south of the West Seattle Bridge for expansion-joint work.
OTHER WEEKEND ALERTS: Here’s the city’s list.
7:48 AM UPDATE: Stacey reports via Twitter, “Big car accident at Fauntleroy Starbucks. Huge backup.” No major injuries, apparently, as the lone fire engine already has been pulled.
With the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting now less than a week away, the board has two new members, and the revised lineup is online. Departing after the March 28th meeting (three hours focused on the 4755 Fauntleroy Way project) were chair Robin Murphy and Norma Tompkins. New to the board: T. Frick McNamara and Todd Bronk. You might know McNamara as co-owner of the Bin 41 wine shop in The Junction; she has a background in landscape architecture, too. And that’s the specialty of Bronk, who is with the Berger Partnership. Their short bios are now on the SWDRB board along with second-term members Laird Bennion, Myer Harrell, and Daniel Skaggs. Next Thursday, April 11th, the board meets at the Senior Center of West Seattle for what’s likely to be a long night – at 6:30 pm they review 29-apartment 3829 California SW (as noted here on Thursday); at 8 pm, it’s the first review – aka Early Design Guidance – for the 166-apartment 3210 California SW. P.S. Not quite sure how Design Review works? Read this.
Love spaghetti and sports? Saturday night, they share the stage at the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks’ Baseball Dinner and Silent Auction. From the announcement:
This is our annual event to celebrate the season and raise funds to support the baseball program. Tickets are only $10 and include a spaghetti dinner served up by the players, along with a small silent auction filled with fun stuff and delicious home-baked desserts.
Tickets will be available at the door, cash/checks only, 5-7 pm Saturday (April 6) in the Chief Sealth Galleria (2600 SW Thistle).
(Volunteer Kathi Ishimaru in action! SWSHS photo)
Everything old is new again – or can be, if it gets some TLC – and that’s the mission of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which is welcoming prospective volunteers to an informational session this Saturday at its Log House Museum. Volunteers have been busy lately at events including the Alki Elementary centennial celebration last week, and will be vital at upcoming events such as the Colman Estate tour on April 28, Alki Lighthouse centennial on June 1, and the All-West Seattle High School Reunion on June 7. Here’s the SWSHS pitch for you to get involved, starting with attendance at Saturday’s session:
Got time to volunteer? The Southwest Seattle Historical Society needs you! Like to interact with people? Fix computers? Update databases? Make small repairs? Transcribe interviews? Shoot videos and still photos? Plan events? Get a glimpse of our community’s past? Whether you have lived here one year or 50, come learn about how to turn your desires and skills into meaningful tasks that will help preserve and promote the heritage of West Seattle and the greater Duwamish peninsula. Here’s a way to look to the future helping others explore West Seattle’s past.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which operates the Log House Museum, offers this introduction to volunteering, led by Clay Eals, executive director. It will include a brief primer on West Seattle history. The museum is one block from Alki Beach, at 61st and Stevens. More info: 206-938-5293 or loghousemuseum.info.
The session for prospective volunteers is 11 am-1 pm on Saturday (April 6th).
It’s NOT predicted to be a major deluge or windstorm, but you should know the National Weather Service has a “special weather statement” out for our area, just to make sure everyone knows it’s going to be rainier and breezier than usual for the next few days. Here’s the alert. (Right now, it’s foggy as well as rainy.)
3:26 PM: Police are responding to a reported armed robbery at Westwood Village – initial information indicates it was at Payless Shoe Source on the south side of the shopping center. Scanner traffic says the weapon was a knife. Police are questioning a possible suspect. More to come.
3:38 PM: No arrest reported – the search continues.
3:56 PM: Another possible suspect – this time spotted on a bus – is being questioned. (And minutes later – a witness says no, that’s not him.)
(UPDATED THURSDAY EVENING with more information on suspect’s background and status – scroll down)
(Monday night photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
As first reported here Tuesday, friends and family of the man shot Monday night at Charlestown and Avalon, 27-year-old musician Rick Powell, on duty at the time as a driver for hire, were told Powell was defending himself during a robbery attempt – and that the man found shot minutes later on Delridge was the suspect. (Here’s our original coverage from the night it happened.) We had been asking police for confirmation and just got it. We also have heard from a friend of Powell’s, who says his surgery on Wednesday went well. Benefits are being set up to raise money for Powell – including this one.
Meantime, here’s how SPD Blotter‘s Jonah Spangenthal-Lee tells the story (followed by additional information we have researched):
A 19-year-old felon is in jail recovering from gunshot wounds and facing charges for seriously wounding another man in an exchange of gunfire during a violent robbery attempt in West Seattle …
.
Shortly after 11 pm on April 1st, a 27-year-old for-hire driver pulled his Cadillac over along SW Charlestown Street and Avalon Way SW, and stepped out of his car to smoke a cigarette.
As the victim was standing on the street, 19-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendez — released from a Yakima prison just four days earlier, after serving time for burglary and robbery — drove past the victim, and pulled down the street ahead of the 27-year-old man.Garcia-Mendez climbed out of his car and closed in on 27-year-old, drawing a handgun, and shoving it in the victim’s chest.
1:32 PM: Thanks to Mary for sending a photo and word that the westbound bridge was shut down for what looked like a motorcade headed this way:
Janet then reported a sighting near West Seattle Stadium. SPD Public Affairs says nothing’s on their radar – so for now it’s a mystery; still checking!
1:43 PM UPDATE: Det. Renée Witt in Public Affairs has since confirmed – it’s training. And our crew just caught up with them and has confirmed the same:
Motorcade (escort) training happens here every so often, and we’ve published mentions over the years – but you never know; once in a while, it just might turn out to be somebody like the president of Bulgaria.
Saturday, May 11, is the day this year that buying, selling, browsing, and mingling will be the order of the day for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2013 – the ninth annual edition! It’s a fun tradition and we are glad to be coordinating/presenting it again this year; a community-building West Seattle nonprofit called Megawatt launched it in 2005, and when they shut down a few years later, we asked if WSB could take over and keep it going – this is our sixth one (already!). Anyway, you can register an individual sale, a block sale, or a business/organization/school (etc.) sale, by going here. This is the third full day of registration, which will be open for a couple more weeks – we don’t want anybody to miss out – and we’re off to the fastest start yet, with 40 sales signed up so far. We’ll continue sharing periodic updates here, but the major info links for WSCGSD are the official website and the official Facebook page.
Two West Seattle development notes this morning:
4724 CALIFORNIA LAND-USE PERMIT DECISION: In March, the development team for 4724 California SW – a seven-story building with 73 apartments and 13 live-work units at the former Petco/Sound Ad Group storefront – told WSB they will likely start the project mid-May. We’re checking back to see if that’s still the plan, now that a key decision is in – for the Land Use Permit. The decision (read it here) announced today is subject to appeal, and the deadline for that is April 18th; the official notice has a link explaining how to do so.
About a mile north:
3829 CALIFORNIA PREVIEW, BEFORE DESIGN REVIEW NEXT WEEK: The “packet” for next Thursday’s Southwest Design Review Board meeting about 3829 California SW is now available online, so you can preview the newest design plans. It’s a three-story, 29-unit apartment building; that’s the rear and south-side view in the rendering above. The meeting is at 6:30 pm April 11th, Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon).
| 6 COMMENTS