CONTRACT AWARDED FOR MYRTLE RESERVOIR PARK: Construction is finally about to start on Myrtle Reservoir Park, now that the contract’s been awarded to Seattle-based Ohno Construction. Project manager Virginia Hassinger tells WSB the contract is for $470,000 pre-tax. A pre-construction meeting is set for June 7th, and after that, she says, they “will get going as soon as possible once the contract is fully executed.” (The official Parks webpage shows the park design.) Hassinger says Ohno is well-regarded for work done on Magnuson Park‘s sports fields and wetlands.
JUNCTION PLAZA PARK PLANTING PARTY DATE CHANGE: Friends of Junction Plaza Park has pushed the community planting party back a week to June 12th, since the current rainy weather put a bit of a crimp in the concrete pour at the construction site (42nd/Alaska). Those who’ve volunteered for the planting party should be getting an e-mail update from organizers. The park dedication is still on for June 29th.
Dozens of student artists from West Seattle’s high schools are showing their work in the ArtsWest gallery through tomorrow (noon-7 pm daily), including Chief Sealth International High School student Arnoldo Alvarado, one of the artists on hand for a special reception there last night, as was Matthew Wood from Seattle Lutheran High School:
The reception also included an announcement of the art-show winners:
1st place Silbee Sanchez, West Seattle High School, Grade 11, European Vacation, tempera and acrylic on canvas.
Tied in 2nd place Kelly Le Phung, Seattle Lutheran High School (grade 12), Vitamin C, linoleum print; and Meru Simone, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), My Inner Fish, gouache and colored pencil on paper.
Tied in 3rd place Marlys Mandaville, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), Self Portrait, gouache on paper; and Peka Grayson, West Seattle High School (grade 12), Fruit by the Foot, acrylic
Donors for the prize money included Joan and Wilbur Springer, shown in the photo below with (at left) ArtsWest executive director Alan Harrison:
Again, you still have time to see the winning work and all the entries on display at ArtsWest (4711 California SW) today and tomorrow, noon-7 pm.
Sometime in the next week,Seattle Parks (and other departments) will announce what midyear cuts they have to make this summer as the result of mayoral mandates on the budget – but there were no hints during briefings at last night’s Parks Board meeting downtown. In fact, while previous Parks statements had indicated the cuts would be announced on or around June 1st, acting deputy superintendent Eric Friedl told the board the news might not come till the following week. In his meeting-opening briefing, filling in for acting superintendent Christopher Williams, Friedl promised that even though this is a “furlough weekend” for Parks, and there’s no trash pickup today, the “seasonal schedule” mentioned after the trash debacle a few weeks ago kicks in Saturday, so you should NOT see a repeat at Alki – or any other city park – this weekend. Read on for other toplines from the Parks Board meeting, which started with a relatively sizable crowd – about 30 people:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
What looks like vandalism on the south side of the new Junction flower shop Fleurt is actually from an early-morning car crash. First we heard from Jack, who says that around 6 am, he saw a car up on the curb at California/Oregon (map) with “front body damage” and five police cars at the scene; then Ellen e-mailed wondering if the smashed shelves and planters she saw outside Fleurt were the work of vandals. Christopher Boffoli just checked it out for WSB – his photo is above; he says there’s no major damage to the structure itself. Fleurt wasn’t open yet when he went by, but an SPD card in the door says the crash happened about 5:50 am. We’re checking with police on the driver’s status; 911 logs don’t show a medic response, and Jack said it looked as if a search was under way when he went by. 1:44 PM UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James confirms that the car was stolen, no driver in sight when police arrived; someone saw a person run from the scene but hadn’t actually seen that person driving the car. He adds, “The vehicle was returned to the owner, who did not know that the vehicle had been stolen.”
ORIGINAL 9:40 AM REPORT: We’re continuing to receive questions about this, so just in case you were wondering too: We’ve just received new information from police regarding the incident that backed up traffic on the eastbound bridge around 7:30 am; some who e-mailed us reported seeing a “scooter” at the scene. Police had trouble finding information during our first call but Seattle Police Media Unit Officer Renee Witt has since located a report that says a “man driving a moped” was hurt in a possible hit-run crash. No word yet on his condition (we have a message out to the Fire Department, which would know if the injuries were life-threatening) or whether the other driver was found. 12:01 PM UPDATE: We’ve heard from enough witnesses to describe the 2-wheeler as a scooter, so we have changed the headline, and even more importantly, Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen tells WSB the rider was not seriously hurt and did not have to be taken to the hospital.
If you don’t mind tidewalking in the rain, the tides today and tomorrow are almost as low as they were two weeks ago, when we shared some great photos from WSB’ers. Today it’ll be down to -2.5 just before noon, and -2.3 tomorrow just after noon. And tomorrow marks the first day of the season for the volunteer beach naturalists deployed by the Seattle Aquarium (WSB sponsor) – they’ll be on the beach at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park each of the next three days (schedule and other locations around the city are here.)
First WSB’er JanS reported seeing it on a sign on the 2604 California SW storefront … then last night, it was announced on Facebook: Today’s the day Heavenly Pastry and Cake will open its doors. They’re between Alki Bike and Board and Linda’s Flowers and Gifts, and say they’ll be open noon-7 pm today. (Here’s our original preview story from last November.)
(Cameraphone photo added 1:08 am – we & other media are of course not being allowed too close) ORIGINAL 11:53 PM REPORT: We have no official info on this yet but multiple reports from neighbors: Police are reported to be negotiating with someone inside a home around 11th/Henderson (map). A neighbor tells WSB officers told her it had something to do with domestic violence. She also says she was advised to stay in her home, and that the officers are using megaphones (or something amplified) to try to talk the man out.
12:24 AM: The standoff is still under way; the man has not responded to police’s attempts to reach him, and – as commenters in the area have mentioned – they are trying other tactics. Also, per Twitter, police now have a public-information officer heading to the scene – they confirm it began as a domestic-violence-assault call. (Whether there was a victim, is not clear; there were no medic/aid calls on the 911 log in that area.) On the media hotline, Det. Mark Jamieson says there was concern the man may have access to weapons, and that’s the reason for the major response.
1:10 AM: Commenters from Highland Park are adding some incremental info on what they’re hearing; we’ve got someone at the scene but media is being kept way back, about half a block away (TV crews are there too).
1:21 AM: Police are definitely now inside, and saying on the scanner they haven’t found any guns.
1:29 AM: Det. Jamieson has talked to us and other media. The 40-year-old suspect is being taken to the precinct for processing. Officers are searching the house, including what’s apparently a detached garage where the man was holed up. We have the whole media briefing on video and that’ll be back here at HQ in a few minutes so we can upload.
2:22 AM: Here’s the entire 4-minute briefing. As you’ll hear Det. Jamieson explain – as SWAT vehicles depart in the background – it started with an assault report involving 2 people, though he says neither was seriously hurt.
8:34 AM:The summary on SPD Blotter has a few additional details about the victims in the initial assault call, describing the victims as his “juvenile nephew” and a friend of that boy, as well as noting that the home belongs to the suspect’s sister.
“What needs to change in your neighborhood in order to make walking, biking, and riding transit easy?” WSB’ers have a LOT of answers to that one – so we want to be sure you’d heard about your next chance to speak out. The city’s “Walk, Bike, Ride” initiative has just started a series of community gatherings – kicking off with the Health/Equity/Transportation Forum you can watch in the window above – and one meeting is coming up in West Seattle – 6 pm June 14th at Delridge Community Center. The meeting invite promises that you’ll “receive information on what types of projects are possible, and fill out a ‘ballot’ that will help the city prioritize these types of transportation projects.”
Another request tonight for help finding families who have room for a visiting international student this summer. From Andrew Ward, a teacher who lives in West Seattle:
There will be 17 students flying to Seattle from Spain this summer for the month of July, but I have yet to secure sponsor homes for FOUR of the incoming students. The other kids have already been matched with host‐families. I am looking for four more homes where they can learn more about life in America and practice their English. They have their own insurance and spending money. They just need to have their own bed to sleep in and a place at the dinner table.
Host families will need to complete an application packet. It’s pretty easy, and it’s a FUN way to get to know another culture and potentially make life‐long international friends!!! If you are interested in participating, please e-mail Mr. Andrew Ward at senorward@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Time is of the essence in getting everything set up in time for them to be able to come to the US. It would be such a shame to have these few kids miss out. To have more of your questions answered, the following websites will help (too): www.nacelopendoor.org or www.nacel.net.
Looking for something to read, and/or wondering what’s hot? Every week, courtesy of Gretchen Montgomery @ Square One Books (WSB sponsor), we bring you her independent West Seattle bookstore’s 5 best-sellers in each of 4 key categories:
Hardcover:
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
2. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre
3. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
4. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
5. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Paperback:
1. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
2. Carrier: Untangling the Danger in My DNA by Bonnie Rough
3. The Signal by Ron Carlson
4. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
5. Manhood For Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon
Children/Young Adult:
1. The Mysterious Benedict Society Series by Trenton Lee Stewart
2. The Stink Series by Megan McDonald
3. The 39 Clues #9/Storm Warning by Linda Sue park
4. Star Wars/A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder
5. Mama, Is it Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
Teen:
1. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
4. Mistwood by Lean Cypess
5. Fang by James Patterson
Square One, by the way, has a cookbook sale under way right now, through next Tuesday (June 1st).
Couple followups. First – hours after our story last night about the long-trashed crosswalk-flag basket at California/Dawson south of The Junction, the couple who reported it, Kim and Efram – who said SDOT hadn’t answered repeated complaints – wrote to say, “This morning we woke up to…..FLAGS AT THE CROSSWALK!! SDOT must’ve come in the night and furtively put new flags in, like elves or something!” We went over to check and got the above photo at noontime (several flags were on the west side; the one in the foreground, east side, had just been carried across). They’re the orange flags that we’ve seen in private baskets, though, not the yellow ones SDOT had originally distributed … hmm.
At the time,Seattle Public Utilities told us the reservoir would be filled “next (this) summer.” Checked with SPU’s Andy Ryan today – and he says it’s actually being filled right now; they’re about two-thirds of the way done with filling the 30-million-gallon covered reservoir. It takes up half the space the old open one did – SPU said they didn’t need that much capacity.
1. to the baseball team for getting to the final 4. They will play in Yakima Friday @ 4:00 opponent to be determined. They are 2 wins away from being a State Champion.
2. to the Fast Pitch team they are 3rd in Tri-District and will be playing Friday in the 16 team State Tournament in Yakima.
3. to the following track individuals who will be going to Eastern University to compete in the State Track Meet Friday: Jilllian Smith in Long Jump and Pole Vault, Elyssa Watord in the Long Jump and shot Put, Alina Yovetich in the 400, Lucas Driscol in the Shot Put, Dylan Heckett in the Shot Put, Gordy Mueller in the Javelin, Jake Nigon in the Pole Vault, Shot Put and the 400.
That banner has just gone up in the window at 4417 Fauntleroy Way (map), the former OK Corral barbecue joint (which quietly went from take-out, to catering-only, to closed over the past few months): Jones Barbeque, coming soon. You may know them from SODO and/or Columbia City. We’ve got messages out to company ownership/management to find out about the West Seattle plan, so stand by for more.
We spotted the sign while heading over to take a photo of what WSB Forums member Nuni pointed out — the new left-turn signals at 35th/Avalon have just been switched on, after more than a week under wraps:
The signals are just on the west/east lights (Avalon to 35th), not the north/south ones. And yes, this is the same intersection that has one of West Seattle’s two red-light-camera systems (along with 35th/Thistle).
Orca Network is quoted by the Kitsap Sun – which has been tracking transient orcas in waterways by Bremerton and Silverdale – as saying the transients have been spotted off our shores today. No other details so far but we’re committed to sharing whale sightings, so you are now on alert! 5;31 PM UPDATE: Howard from Orca Network says the sighting in question was Tuesday, not today. The transients have been seen again in Kitsap County, but not off WS, today.
WSB is proud to again be among the co-sponsors of the peninsula’s biggest event of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest, coming up July 9, 10, 11 in The Junction – and we just got this copy of the newly released poster art you’ll be seeing soon all over West Seattle, as the summer’s biggest festival gets closer. (See the full-size PDF version here.) You’re probably wondering who’s on the slate of “Hot Local Bands” – the full slate is still being finalized, and you’ll see it as soon as it’s ready, but a few acts have independently announced they’re on the list (here’s a Facebook invite just tweeted by Massy Ferguson and one from Cars tribute band All Mixed Up – but don’t mark your calendar just yet, nothing’s final till it comes from the West Seattle Junction Association). Lots of newness ahead this year – features like the GreenLife sustainability/gardening expo, and also Junction Plaza Park, under construction now, to be dedicated June 29th, in plenty of time for Summer Fest.
Checking out rumors is one of the best parts of our job. Often they’re unfounded, so we don’t publish anything here – just replying directly to whomever contacted us about the rumor. But sometimes, it’s a case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Michelle e-mailed this morning to ask about a rumor that the Junction liquor store might move. Our call to the Washington Liquor Control Boardmedia-relations team yielded this info from spokesperson Anne Radford: “The lease (in The Junction) is coming to an end in February 2011, so we are considering other locations, along with the possibility of renewing our lease there. So at this point, we’re still looking at our options.” You’ll recall that West Seattle’s other state liquor store closed in Morgan Junction when its lease ended in fall 2008, leaving WS drinkers with one store until the replacement location opened at Westwood Village this past March.
One month ago, a reader tip led to first word of the Seattle Design Commission‘s “Holding Patterns” competition – soliciting ideas for stalled development sites around the city, with the possibility that ideas for temporary use might even become reality. (This of course instantly brought the “Hole Foods” site to mind for many.) The application period closed this past Monday, and this WSB Forums post inspired us to check with the SDC this morning to see if they’d heard from anyone regarding West Seattle sites. SDC’s Valerie Kinast says she did a quick check and sees “one for (a) Huling Brothers site, one strong one for the Alaska/Fauntleroy intersection, and one four blocks south of Delridge Community Center.” No specifics yet, but Kinast adds that, “In the week of June 7th, we’ll (decide) which ideas to move forward into an implementation workshop, probably on July 20th.”
(Photo by Jennifer Devenyns) “ONCE UPON A MATTRESS” STARTS 2ND AND FINAL 3-PERFORMANCE RUN: You have three more chances to catch the West Seattle High School Drama/Music presentation of “Once Upon a Mattress,” tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30 pm. (And just in time for the occasion, the Drama Club’s debuted its new website!) Not only is it entertainment, it’s also a chance to help make sure the program has money to continue next year; tickets are $5/$10.
GARDEN CENTER SALE: 11 am-3 pm today and Saturday at the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) Puget Ridge Garden Center, dozens of varieties of plants are on sale, including herbs, vegetables and fruit. Read more about the center’s plants at pugetridge.blogspot.com – and/or just go have a look on the north side of campus (6000 16th SW).
SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: A popular topic these days, Block Watch, is on the agenda for this crimefighting council, along with the customary crime-trend updates from Seattle Police and King County Sheriff’s Office. The group meets at 6 pm at the White Center DSHS office, 9650 15th SW.
PARKS BOARD:This citywide advisory group (whose chair and vice chair are both from West Seattle) meets at 7 at Parks HQ downtown. The agenda this time around includes briefings on tree-trimming permits, Parks’ special programs for people with disabilities, and the department’s relationship to the city’s community-gardening program – the “briefing papers” are all linked here.
(All photos in this report are by Dina Johnson unless otherwise credited) Billy Stauffer said he’d chain himself to a bulldozer before he let a jail get built anywhere near his Highland Park home. That was an oft-cited memory as the Highland Park Action Committee honored Stauffer and many others Wednesday night, while using part of its regular meeting to formally celebrate the end of a two-year fight against the possibility a new city jail would be built near their neighborhood – or anywhere else in the city. (If you missed the news, city and county leaders announced two weeks ago that various factors would eliminate the need for a new jail for at least 10 years, so the site-selection process was ending.) Every person singled out had a special contribution. One of those who shared the memory of Stauffer’s vow was Eddie Sherman of Pacific Plumbing Supply (close to the Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way site that was still on the jail-location list when the process shut down):
Sherman lauded HPAC for being a true “action committee,” persistently pursuing their goal. “If this fight hadn’t been taken up by your group,” he told chair Dan Mullins, “it never would have gone anywhere – I felt like I wasn’t alone. It was just a small group, able to make a big punch to stop this entire thing.” The 2008 forums at which Sherman and others spoke so passionately were recalled during the semi-ceremony. One of the honorees, local teacher Laura Drake, was ribbed a bit for the nationwide fame she gained because we and others put her fiery June 26, 2008, speech on video, where it was widely linked:
(video no longer available due to Blip.tv closure)
Drake’s outrage drew cheers and tears. But at Wednesday night’s meeting …Read More
Three alerts to share in this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup tonight. First, Lee reports that his neighborhood e-mail group has word of grounding-wire theft on utility poles in an alley near 39th/Stevens (map). This isn’t just costly to utilities, but also a serious risk to worker safety, so they were expected to get fast repairs, but neighbors say they were told West Seattle has seen a lot of this lately. Second, metal thieves in action again in Seaview; from 44th/Raymond (map), Alison reports the neighborhood e-mail group has shared word of a “dirty, dark blue, older-model Toyota sedan” traveling an alley with someone walking alongside throwing items including bicycles and scrap metal into the trunk. The neighbor who spotted them called 911 and gave chase, but finally called it off at a dispatcher’s advice when high speed and wet streets made it unsafe – not before providing police with the plate and description, though. They’re suggesting area residents check their backyard to see if anything’s missing. Finally, from Greta in Gatewood:
I live on Sw. Rose St. between 35th & 37th [map]. We had a flyer left on our front porch today alerting us to a 3rd burglary on our block. I haven’t talked to our neighbors yet, so I’m not sure the details. Thought I’d share this with others in the neigborhood.
Sharp differences, and occasionally sharp words, between three of the candidates running for 34th District State House Position 2 – Joe Fitzgibbon, “Mac” McElroy, and Marcee Stone – at a midday campaign forum on theSouth Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) forum today. Fitzgibbon made a repeated point that he’s young; Stone countered that age doesn’t matter, but made a point of her gender; McElroy’s main point was that he’s not “the status quo.” The fourth candidate in the race, Mike Heavey, sent his campaign manager to read a statement and to apologize that Heavey couldn’t make it because he was prohibited from campaigning while on the clock for his King County job (assisting Councilmember Jan Drago). Even if higher education isn’t at the top of your interest list in deciding who to vote for as successor to State Rep. Sharon Nelson (who’s running thus-far-unopposed for State Senate), some of the discussion might prove instructive – read on for details:Read More
One month ago, a reader tip led to 
Three alerts to share in this 
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