West Seattle, Washington
25 Friday
Seattle Lutheran High School will soon welcome three NFL veterans as part of its annual fundraiser for its Football and Cheer programs. Former Seahawk Orlando Huff and former Huskies Mario Bailey and Greg Lewis will speak to students, parents, and friends at the Pasta Dinner Fundraiser on September 5th at 6 pm in the SLHS gym. The event will also be emceed by journalist and video host (and former UW athlete) Jenni Hogan, who you might recognize from her work in Seattle TV. If you’re interested in attending, tickets are on sale for $10 here.
This is the last day for the longtime home of Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home at Fauntleroy and Alaska. As reported here previously, HK is moving to a new location on 35th SW; the owners sold the 93-year-old business’s longtime site to the developers of the 4755 Fauntleroy Way project, which also includes the old Huling Auto site to the south, the now-closed Shell station to the east, and the old used-car lot to the west. In our photo is Len Burton-Hardin from HK at left and Kraig Kennedy at right – who happened to be stopping by for some business involving another structure on the site. His father Dick Kennedy, who died in 2007, took over the funeral home in 1954. HK will open its new 35th/Ida headquarters at 9:30 Monday morning. We have a message out to the 4755 Fauntleroy developers to ask about a timetable for demolition at the project site; environmental work is ahead at the former service station next to the about-to-be-former funeral home.
(UPDATED 3:34 pm with new information from Union Gospel Mission – scroll to end)
Nine days remain until the September 1st date by which city leaders committed to closing the encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville,” on mostly city-owned land at West Marginal Way and Highland Park Way. By multiple accounts – including the one you’ll see below – the number of people there has increased instead of decreased. What will happen when September 1st arrives, remains to be seen. First: We asked for comment from the mayor, whose spokesperson Aaron Pickus replies:
I’m not going to speculate on what will happen on September 1st. What I can say is that our focus is to find shelter for those currently living at the site.
In June, when 7 councilmembers called for the closure, the mayor replied that he would “follow the City Council’s direction to evict those who remain” if the site isn’t vacant on September 1st.
The City Council, which called for the closure, is on its summer break right now, so no official discussions are scheduled on their part. But the latest acknowledgment that the closure date is approaching comes from the Westside Interfaith Network, a coalition of local churches and faith-based groups that has long coalesced around the issue of homelessness. We covered its forum on the issue in mid-June. WIN’s Mary Anne deVry says the group plans nightly vigils at Nickelsville starting this Sunday – NOT to demand that it stay open, but to show their concern about the unsolved problem of homelessness. She writes:
Westside Inferfaith Network (WIN) met this week and decided to hold a vigil at Nickelsville’s parking lot each evening next week (Sun. 8/25 thru Sat. 8/31). This idea arose as we were discussing the growing crisis of homeless people. Our idea is based on these facts:
-Nickelsville is closing (September 1st) & there are still ~150 residents with no confirmed place to move,
-There’s a steady increase of homeless people (recently 9 families asked shelter at N’ville in a 13 day period–& many couples/singles keep coming–none of them were looking for “freebies!)
-2-1-1 reports shelters are full (most people coming to N’ville are told to do so by 2-1-1),
-it’s not safe to live in the greenbelt or city streets.
-We also know literally tens of thousands of people in our area struggle on the brink of homelessness. There will be future homeless people.
(Sunflowers in Delridge, photographed by Flickr member alextutu1821 and shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Highlights for the rest of your Friday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
PET ADOPTIONS: Noon-3 pm, the MaxMobile will be at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) with adoptable pets! (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan)
THIS YEAR’S FINAL CONCERT AT THE MOUNT: Enjoy ’60s tunes at 6 pm tonight with The Spyrographs performing at this year’s fourth and final outdoor concert on the south side of the Providence Mount St. Vincent (4831 35th SW; WSB sponsor) campus. The concert’s free; if you want to buy dinner at 5:30 pm – tonight’s featured entree is salmon or chicken Caesar salad.
IN-STORE AT EASY STREET: King County Queens perform at Easy Street Records, free/all-ages, 7 pm. (California/Alaska)
AT KENYON HALL: 7:30 tonight – from the description in the calendar listing:
Internationally renowned queen of old-time blues guitar Del Rey, award winning blues and boogie woogie pianist Arthur Migliazza, master of the blues harmonica Grant Dermody, and poet of the dobro Orville Johnson join forces to raise the roof, and then some! Piano, guitar, dobro, and harmonica playing, and down-home singing by the area’s finest.
Historic Kenyon Hall is at 7904 35th SW.
THE BEARD BROTHERS: The Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) home page asks the question: “Ever hear ‘Kashmir’ done with just an acoustic guitar, percussion and electric violin?” If not – or even if you have – the Beard Brothers are a “don’t miss,” at the Feedback, 9:30 tonight. (6451 California SW)
LOTS more on the calendar – and don’t forget the freeway ramp closure that starts at 7 tonight.
Thanks to Pam Rago, family-support worker at Highland Park Elementary, for sharing this information that will affect not only some families at her school, but at three others in our area:
Washington State has approved what is called “slow start” for Title 1, full-day kindergarten schools including Highland Park, Roxhill, Sanislo, and West Seattle. This means that kindergarten will not start on September 4th. Kindergarten will start three days later, on Monday, September 9th.
During the first three days of school (September 4th – 6th) the kindergarten teachers will be meeting with families for a beginning-of-the-year parent-teacher conference. This will give our teachers the opportunity to learn more about the incoming kindergarteners before school begins which will then help teachers tailor their program to best meet each child’s needs.
If you have an incoming kindergartener at one of the schools involved, she says, the school will contact you (if it hasn’t already) about setting up the meeting time.
In case you haven’t already seen this in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar: With school now less than two weeks away, families in need are invited to a backpack-giveaway event this Sunday. It’s at West Seattle Baptist Church (4157 California SW), 1-3 pm Sunday (August 25th), and there’ll be free pizza, too, WSBC says. If you have questions, call the church at 206-932-3717.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
The weekend’s almost here! As we get going with today’s commute watch, those reminders again:
*At 7 pm tonight, the northbound I-5 exit to the West Seattle Bridge closes for the weekend, to reopen by 5 am Monday. State crews will be replacing two half-century-old expansion joints and replace “a 550-foot section of rutted-out roadway … with new concrete.” Here’s the detour map; here’s the schedule of other closures ahead for the same area.
*Sunday morning, the Alki Beach 5K – benefiting breast-cancer patients – closes part of Alki Avenue until about 11 am.
ADDED 2:04 PM: Two weekend closures you will want to know about if you’re using Highway 99 north of downtown:
Saturday, Aug. 24
Crews will close two lanes of southbound SR 99 across the Aurora Bridge from 6 a.m. to noon.
Sunday, Aug. 25
Crews will close two lanes of northbound SR 99 across the Aurora Bridge from 6 a.m. to noon.
Some in the crowd at Hiawatha for Thursday night’s Fly Moon Royalty concert might not realize they were lucky – they were there for what the duo had described earlier as their last live show in this area for quite a while. Here’s a quick snip of video from Instagram:
With Action Jackson providing the beats and background as DJ/producer, Adra Boo is the voice of Fly Moon Royalty:
There’s often something extra at the concerts, and this time around, it was free face painting:
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Next Thursday at 6:30 pm, it’s this year’s finale for the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series, featuring Strong Suit.
In West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:
ROBBERY SUSPECTS: First, an update on the three men whose arrests we covered late last night in Arbor Heights, believed linked to other crimes around the city: They were not booked into jail until midday today, so their bail hearing isn’t until tomorrow afternoon. We haven’t turned up any information on criminal records yet, but the authorities have access to more tools than we do, so we should find out something definitive when probable-cause paperwork is available tomorrow.
BUSY DAY FOR BURGLARIES: The SPD map, tweets, and scanner traffic total up to (at least) eight burglaries reported in West Seattle today, more than three times the average:
10:22 PM: On our way to check out what was initially dispatched as a “heavy rescue” at 16th and Trenton. At least one private ambulance has been called. More shortly.
10:45 PM UPDATE: As is frequently the case with “heavy rescue” calls, this one involved a flipped vehicle, one of two involved in a collision in the northbound lane of 16th SW just south of Trenton. Police have just reopened southbound 16th.
10:56 PM: Added two photos we took at the scene. One person is reported to have been taken to Harborview Medical Center. If we get any more info later tonight or tomorrow morning, we’ll add it here.
What seems like the endless summer just keeps putting on amazing shows like this, even with the fall equinox now exactly one month away. Thanks to everyone sharing photos – we start with three and expect to add more – above, by Michael Copeland, shows the later stage as the sky glowed pink; next, the orange heart of the sunset, from BCH in Fauntleroy:
And early on, Chas Redmond sent this photo from Alki Point:
ADDED: Even more photos – like this one from Tom, taken on Beach Drive:
***Other views ahead!***
Another military flyby turned some heads on Alki Beach this afternoon: This time, 2 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Thanks to Danny McMillin for the photo of one of them; he also shared a picture of the four Chinooks that drew attention last weekend. Boeing co-produces the Osprey, which is flown by the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps.
5:12 PM: Just in from King County: The West Seattle Water Taxi is canceled for the rest of this evening.
5:32 PM UPDATE: Now the county says never mind, they’re putting the Rachel Marie into service and the WS WT will resume as of 5:45.
One month after the “closing sale” for Admiralty House Antiques, with owner Fred Dau deciding to fully retire and sell the site (as he told us in this interview), we were asked if there’s any news about what’s happening there now. Here’s what we have found: The building already has a sale pending, according to the online listing ($1,050,000) for the 2,200-square-foot building on a 5,700-square-foot site, recorded as two lots, zoned NC2-40 (mixed-use retail and residential up to 40 feet). We don’t know the buyer’s identity, but city records show a development proposal already has been submitted for part of the site, proposing a 3-unit rowhouse, with its address changed to 4304 SW Walker (Admiralty House is 2141 California SW). The project page on the city website has this notation: “Existing retail building to remain w/ no work or changes.”
In case you wondered about a big police presence in the Genesee area this past hour – Seattle Police are trying to sort out a collision involving one of their cars and an SUV (not pictured) near 48th and Andover. No serious injuries, we’re told, and nobody had to go to the hospital. We don’t know anything at this point about the circumstances of today’s crash, but commenters brought up safety concerns about this intersection back in April, when a crash left a car upside-down.
P.S. Thanks to the WSB’er who texted us about the SPD involvement – otherwise, this was noted only as a “motor vehicle accident” on the Fire Department log, not an indicator of unusual circumstances, and we might have missed it. Text or voice: 206-293-6302 any time.
6:50 PM UPDATE: More info has just been published on SPD Blotter:
A female officer sustained minor injuries in an intersection-related collision today in West Seattle. At approximately 12:26 p.m. today a Southwest Precinct patrol officer was driving her marked police car eastbound on SW Andover Street approaching 48th Avenue SW, an uncontrolled intersection. At the same time a civilian-driven passenger vehicle was approaching the same intersection northbound on 48th Avenue SW. The two vehicles collided in the intersection and both drivers sustained minor injuries.
The civilian was treated and released from the scene by fire department medics. The officer was transported by police vehicle to an area hospital for follow up evaluation and treatment. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed from the scene.
There were no citations issued at the scene pending further investigation and collision reconstruction.
Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.
Three months after we first reported that the six-years-vacant Chuck and Sally’s Tavern in Morgan Junction will be transformed into the new home of The Bridge, the project is entering a new phase – serious exterior work.
We’ve been noticing it all week, especially the upper row of windows revealed by the removal of some of the old siding. So we asked The Bridge’s Rita Dixson how things are going:
We are making great progress … we have re-habbed the transom windows that had been covered up for years – so nice to be able to restore some of the original architectural charm of the building! We are planning on breaking ground (today) or Friday for the kitchen foundations, as well as continuing on with re-vamping the exterior facade.
For a comparison, see the “before” photo in our May story. One of the renderings shown here in June shows how the revealed windows figure into things:
The Bridge is losing its current site on 35th just south of Avalon because of a mixed-use project (about 160 apartments and a roughly equal number of parking spaces, 15,000 square feet of retail) in the works for 4435 35th SW, which had a second Design Review Board meeting in June (WSB coverage here), four years after its first one.
9:56 AM: With early-morning help from Seal Sitters volunteers, a life-size bronze sculpture of a harbor-seal mother and pup is now at its permanent home on the east end of the Alki Beach promenade. The work started early this morning and isn’t done yet – sculptor Georgia Gerber came from Whidbey Island to make sure her creation made it safely into its spot:
The sculpture, funded by grants and donations, is part of the Year of the Seal project, explained here. We’ll be revisiting the installation site later for an update; we’re told it’ll be fenced off for a while so that part of the materials can “set.” More to come.
ADDED: As promised, we went back to check:
We found volunteers Ralph and Betty in the process of what you might call sculpture-sitting; the installation will remain taped off until sometime Friday.
Less than two weeks until classes start at Chief Sealth International High School and other Seattle Public Schools. As announced in early July, Chief Sealth will have a new principal for the new school year, Aida Fraser-Hammer. And she has just announced an invitation to the Sealth community to drop by next Monday (August 26th) for a “meet and greet”:
On Monday August 26th, 2013, the doors of Chief Sealth International High School will be open for you!!!
Come on in anytime between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm to Meet ‘n Greet Principal Aïda Fraser-Hammer and her administrative team, Andra Maughan, Clint Sallee, and Cheryl Sullivan.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME!! BRING THE KIDS!!
The district’s first day of school is Wednesday, September 4th.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Don’t forget your sunglasses; we’re heading into the 80s today, say the forecasters. Road-work notes:
*The Dumar/Orchard closure is scheduled to continue again today
*The northbound I-5 exit to West Seattle Bridge will be closed tonight overnight to get ready for the weekend-long closure – here’s the latest from WSDOT’s Broch Bender:
*10 pm Thursday (tonight) – 5 am Friday – Crews will close the ramp to mobilize equipment necessary for replacing two expansion joints and resurfacing approximately 550 feet of the ramp.
*7 pm Friday – 5 am Monday, Aug. 26 – Crews will close the ramp to traffic. During the closure they will sawcut out two 50-year-old bridge expansion joints and replace them with modern equivalents. They also will hydroblast off a 550 foot section of rutted out roadway and replace it with new concrete.
Here’s the detour map. And here’s the schedule of other closures ahead for the same area.
9:26 AM UPDATE: A stalled vehicle on the eastbound “low bridge” is slowing things down, SDOT tweets.
Here's a visual of the car stall on the Lower Spokane Bridge pic.twitter.com/3ttJzUDsLa
— seattledot (@seattledot) August 22, 2013
11:43 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s sent tips/questions about police activity in north Arbor Heights, near 35th/Roxbury. Police have detained three people; we’re working to find out what for.
12:10 AM: Our crew at the scene has learned so far that this is a robbery investigation. The original scene is apparently near 35th/104th; closer to Roxbury, police were searching a car. No details beyond that.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: The car (in our photo above) was impounded to be searched for evidence; one item recovered, per scanner traffic, was a purse belonging to a victim. Commenter “Neighbor” confirms this was a street robbery; we expect to get more details from police later this morning and will ask if there’s any suspicion it’s related to the holdup about 24 hours earlier in Admiral (reported here, with backstory on other recent cases).
10:15 AM UPDATE: Police say the suspects were responsible for three robberies/assaults last night – and are believed to be linked to other cases. From SPD Blotter:
Three men are now in custody following a series of robberies that stretched from Holly Park to Fauntleroy to Arbor Heights last night in a span of about 90 minutes.
The first robbery occurred at a bus stop at Beacon Avenue South and South Holly Street just after 10:00 pm. A woman was waiting for a bus when she was approached by a suspect armed with a black semi-automatic pistol. The suspect had a bandana covering his face, and demanded the victim’s cell phone. The victim handed over the phone and the suspect pushed her to the ground before he fled the area on foot. A witnesses driving by stopped to assist the victim and called 911. Officers conducted a search, including with a K9, but the suspect was not located. The victim had a few bruises on her elbow and hand, but did not require any medical attention.
Later, at about 11:10 pm, officers from the Southwest Precinct responded to a report of an assault with a weapon at Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Wildwood Place, just south of the Fauntleroy ferry dock. The adult male victim told officers he was walking to catch a ferry when he was confronted by an unknown male suspect. The suspect said something to the victim and then struck him on top on the head with the butt of a gun. The suspect then ran off without taking anything from the victim. Officers contacted the victim. He declined any medical treatment and left to board his boat. The suspect was not located.
About twenty minutes after that, 11:30 pm, officers from Southwest responded to the Arbor Heights neighborhood for a report of an armed robbery. A woman was walking in the 10400 Block of 35th Avenue SW when a suspect wearing a white hooded sweatshirt approached her from behind, grabbing her purse from her shoulder, yelling at her “Give it to me! Give it to me!” He then pointed something at her forehead, which the victim believed was a gun. The victim screamed for help and the suspect ran off east on 104th. Moments later, the victim and a neighbor saw a car drive by them with the suspect inside. Arriving officers made a high risk vehicle stop at SW 98th Street and 35th Avenue SW and took three males into custody.
Officers observed a woman’s purse inside the car, along with a blue bandana and several cell phones. A black handgun was observed under the front passenger’s seat. The suspect car was photographed and then towed to the processing room awaiting a search warrant.The victim positively identified the suspect wearing the white hooded sweatshirt as the suspect who had robbed her minutes earlier and positively identified her purse in the car.
Detectives from the Robbery Unit responded to the scene and will be responsible for the follow up investigation. It is very possible that this trio of suspects are responsible for a number of armed street robberies that have occurred in various neighborhoods citywide this summer.
Detectives spent most of the night interviewing the suspects.
The suspects, ages 19, 21 and 22, will be booked into the King County Jail following their interviews with detectives.
This was a day bookended by a beautiful sunset and a glorious moonset. Above, thanks to Scott Bessho for the sunset photo from Lincoln Park; below, thanks to Greg Anderson for sharing this morning’s memorable moonset, over a ferry bound for Southworth:
Tonight’s sunset and moonrise were just two minutes apart, and if you’re up early tomorrow and have a view to the west, you can check out the next moonset. You can always find the sun/moon rising/setting times, plus forecasts, tides, and more, on the WSB West Seattle Weather page.
In early 2011, we mentioned the big buzz West Seattle writer Nicole Hardy was getting for an essay published by the New York Times – so big, an agent and book deal followed. Two and a half years later, that book has just gone on sale, and Hardy is preparing for appearances including its launch party and, next month, a hometown reading. Her book, officially released Tuesday, is titled “Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin“; like her now-renowned essay, Hardy’s book is a first-person account of what it’s like to be a single Mormon woman without marriage and motherhood on the horizon, and without being particularly desperate to change that, despite the traditions, teachings, and pressures of her faith community.
In addition to her acclaimed writing, which includes two collections of poetry as well as her newly published memoir, you might know Hardy from her work at West Seattle restaurants Circa and Ma’ono. But right now, her writing is in the spotlight, with 2 months of readings ahead, and this Friday night, her official book-launch party is happening at Hugo House on Capitol Hill, 6:30 pm (details on the Hugo House website – and/or RSVP via Facebook). And she now has a West Seattle reading/signing in the works, too – Twilight Gallery in The Junction, which has been offering an increasing number of literary events lately, will host Hardy on Thursday, September 26th, at 7 pm.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: The author notes this morning in a comment below that her book is arriving TODAY at West Seattle’s only new-books outlet, Westwood Village Barnes & Noble.
(WSB photo from 48th/Findlay arrest scene last February)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Half a year ago, you might recall the saga of what appeared to be a one-man burglary wave – 25-year-old Justin Wood, arrested twice, for two burglaries, one week apart, while he was already facing prosecution for another, and then confessing to more than 20 more break-ins. Wood’s bail eventually was set at an extraordinarily high amount for a “nonviolent criminal” – half a million dollars.
We lost track of Wood’s case until a WSB’er’s note last night informing us he had pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. So we dug up the court documents to find out more about the plea bargain struck in this case:
Last Thursday, Wood pleaded guilty to seven counts of residential burglary, one count of attempted residential burglary, and two counts of theft of a firearm, from incidents between September of last year and February of this year, all at residences in West Seattle. The burglaries to which he has confessed happened all over the peninsula, from North Admiral to Westwood, according to addresses and summaries in the court documents, which say some loot was recovered, but a lot was pawned, apparently so Wood could feed a heroin habit. He was found in possession of heroin during one of his final arrests back in February. Some of the burglaries were committed while he was out on personal recognizance after a December arrest for a November burglary last year.
Documents show the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office plans to recommend a variety of concurrent sentences that, if the judge agrees, will add up to 8 1/2 years total. Wood’s sentencing is scheduled for October. He’s been back in jail six months as of tomorrow, with his bail still at that half-million-dollar level set shortly after he went back in.
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