The city is getting ready to spend $20 million on its golf courses over the next 20 years, and almost half that sum is designated for the West Seattle Golf Course, the Southwest District Council was reminded tonight. Deputy Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams attended the meeting to brief the SWDC on the status of plans for WSGC improvements (as discussed here in April). Williams said they’ll start pursuing the bond funding for the $20 million in January – leveraging the $1 million-plus profit the city’s golf courses make each year – and that’s also when he expects planning and design to begin for the first West Seattle project that’ll be teed up, a driving range (West Seattle is the only city golf course without one) against the hillside along 35th SW. Williams listed its cost at $4.5 million – that’s up from what was mentioned last spring, and says it’s slated to be built in 2011 after a year of planning and design that he promised will include meetings and other chances for public involvement. Also in the works, the $700,000 “perimeter trail” that will further connect the golf course with Camp Long, but Williams says it isn’t scheduled to be put in until the sixth or seventh year of the 20-year funding plan, and he says the clubhouse/crew facilities wouldn’t be built till “the end of the bond lifecycle.” Not good news, said Fairmount Community Association rep Sharonn Meeks – “that thing [current clubhouse] is falling down.” She also pointed out that nearby residents have concerns about the lighting for the driving range. One last note – Williams said West Seattle is under consideration for electric golf carts; it’s not just a matter of swapping out the carts, he explained, saying electric carts need special paths and a “cart barn” where they can plug in to charge up. (More info on golf-course improvement plans and the city’s Golf Course Master Plancan be found here.)
From a resident who wanted to be anonymous, word of a burglary today:
My house was broken into 11/4/09 between the hours of 7:30am to 5:30pm. Burglar broke window on side of house through the alley. Took coins in jar and rummaged through closets and jewelry. Fortunately when they left, they closed the door, thus keeping my 2 beloved cats safe in the house. House is located on Genesee between 44th and 45th [map].
Just back from the Southwest District Council meeting at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor), where one of the guests was Deputy Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams. His main topic was an update on future West Seattle Golf Course improvements; we’ll write about that separately. After that briefing, he asked if anyone in the room — the council is made up of representatives from community groups and organizations around western West Seattle, which the city calls the “Southwest District” — had questions or concerns about the cyclocross controversy. (If you missed it – that was a bike race scheduled for Halloween in Lincoln Park, till the Parks Department canceled the permit with days to go after being contacted by upset community members.)
No revelations, but for the record, since the topic generated so much interest here originally (and spawned a couple of citywide media stories, here and here): First Williams recapped the background — saying Parks promised it wouldn’t allow those races in “natural-area parks” after a 2002 cyclocross race at Lincoln Park left some trails and turf at the park “utterly destroyed,” but that policy “got lost” in the bureaucracy somewhere until the granting of this permit came to the attention of “members of the community” who “reminded us of our commitment,” at which time, “five days before the event, we canceled it … The department was trying to keep a commitment we made to the community, trying to recognize that Lincoln Park is a natural-area park that needs to have uses compatible with its design as a natural-area park.”
One point of interest in his brief recap: He acknowledged that the cancellation announcement brought “a lot of e-mail from people who were upset on both sides … that kept us busy for a number of days.” The race promoters went on to have an event on Halloween after all, in White Center’s Lakewood Park; Williams says there’s one scheduled in Seattle, in Lower Woodland Park, for November 15.
Photos and memories are being shared at Pegasus on Alki right now during the event previewed here this morning – West Seattle High School Class of 1988 alums gathering to remember their fellow ’88 alum Officer Tim Brenton, the first Seattle police officer murdered in the line of duty in 15 years. Those at the gathering when we stopped by (along with a couple TV stations) included, from left, Julie Gossard, Pegasus general manager Clara Doray, Rick Antonelli and Eileen de Guzman:
They’re collecting donations for the Brenton Family Assistance Fund (details here) and also have a donation box set up on the Pegasus counter:
Clara said they all used to hang out together in high school, and getting together seemed like a natural thing to do. They’re talking about the possibility of some kind of ongoing memorial, but it’s just in the idea stages right now. Rick told us he first heard the name go by on TV over the weekend – (Officer Brenton was identified at the Sunday afternoon briefing, 17 hours after the shooting) and went online to see if it was the same guy he remembered from high school – finding out it was, they all said, gave them chills. Their gathering is scheduled to continue at Pegasus till 9 tonight.
ORIGINAL 3:46 PM REPORT: The county has said that today’s results will be out at/around 4:30 pm – but sometimes they’re early – so here’s the link in case you want to keep checking. The Seattle Mayor’s race is of course the one that’s too close to call – so here’s the direct link to where you’ll see those results. On a statewide level, Referendum 71 is also close – the latest result update is from less than an hour ago – “yes” is still ahead – see the numbers here.4:35 PM UPDATE: Results are out. McGinn still leads but it’s narrower – fewer than 500 votes. Referendum 71 has picked up a wider “yes” margin – now it’s more like 52 percent yes, 48 percent no. 5:38 PM UPDATE: In the King County Executive’s race, which is now Dow Constantine 58%, Susan Hutchison 42%, she finally conceded this afternoon, issuing a statement that reads in part:
Although we are encouraged to see tens of thousands of additional votes in our favor this afternoon, we are certain the final outcome in this race will remain the same. This afternoon I called my opponent, Dow Constantine, to congratulate him on his election to King County Executive. Because the new Executive has only a few weeks until taking office, I want him to be able to move forward quickly to accomplish an orderly transition.
Because he’s filling the remaining few months of Ron Sims‘ unfinished term, Constantine will be sworn in once the election’s certified. (Then our area will need a new King County Councilmember.) 6:35 PM: A couple more updates – Constantine’s starting to name his transition team, and it will include West Seattle-residing Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, according to this Times report; McGinn’s only comment this afternoon has been a short statement that they’re just waiting and watching the returns – he’s taking two days off to spend with his family and won’t be doing interviews again till Friday, according to the statement.
Because the Alki Homestead is a city landmark, any change to its landmark-designated features must be approved by the city Landmarks Board – and the first step in this case is a meeting with its Architectural Review Committee. We’ve just confirmed with city Landmarks Board coordinator Beth Chave that Homestead owner Tom Lin is scheduled to take his proposal for the closed-by-fire property before the ARC next Friday, for the first public presentation since he discussed it with the Alki Community Council in mid-September (WSB coverage here). No final decisions will be made, as this is truly a group that reviews proposals and offers suggestions to those working on them, before they are brought up for official board action, but it’s a public meeting, 8:30 am, Room 4070 at the Municipal Tower downtown.
ORIGINAL 1:29 PM REPORT: Thanks for the tips about a helicopter search – we’ve headed in that general direction (Arbor Heights) and are making calls to law-enforcement agencies – details as we get them. 1:34 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police Det. Mark Jamieson says that Guardian One and SPD are helping with a King County Sheriff’s Office search involving someone who fled a stolen car. The call apparently started in the White Center area (17th/Roxbury) but we’re seeing the helicopter over the 11100 block of 35th SW in Arbor Heights. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart tells us the suspect is now in custody, as of just a few moments ago.
(thanks to Justin from Capitol Hill Seattle for making the G-map)
It won’t go through West Seattle, but it may pass near your workplace, or you might want to arrange to see it go by, so we are publishing the details just released by SDOTof the plan for a 1,000-plus-vehicle procession to Friday’s KeyArena memorial for murdered SPD Officer Timothy Brenton – read on:Read More
ALMOST OPEN: The remodeled Angelina’s in the Admiral District is almost ready to open. (Thanks to Krista for the shot of the new sign.) After “friends and family” previews this week, they’re just awaiting the final go-ahead (inspections, etc.) to open to the public; here’s our preview story from the midst of the major work. Meantime, we’ve got the opening date for another business-in-progress:
DATE SET:Greg Whittaker from Alki Kayak Tours says November 27 is set as the date for opening their new ski, paddlesports and rack shop in the Triangle, Mountain to Sound Outfitters. He sent the above photo “to get the ski bums excited!” now that inventory-stocking is under way – that’s Jon Steel, ski technician and kayaking guide, with some of the inventory. (As first reported here, the shop’s at 3602 SW Alaska [map].)
CYCLE U OPEN HOUSE/GRAND OPENING: Also in the Triangle, the new Cycle U at 4550 Fauntleroy SW is having its official grand-opening open house on Saturday, with giveaways and refreshments; full details online; here’s our Cycle U story from last month.
COFFEE CHANGE: “Rockergirl” first noted this in the WSB Forums and now Paul from PB&J Textiles confirms it: They’ve sold their 6-month-old shop Coffee at the Heights (WSB sponsor) to barista Andrea. Paul says, “She has always wanted to own her own coffee shop. We are very grateful to our customers and had a blast running the shop! We are not going far, we still have our other 2 businesses here in West Seattle. Soon we will be doing upgrades to the Olympic Heights Laundry.” That’s next door to the coffee shop (7349 35th SW).
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 tonight, Delridge Library (map). Holli Margell sends word of what’s in store:
Want to cast another vote? Join us (tonight). We’ll be reviewing the “Bridging the Gap” Projects for the neighborhood to prioritize and narrow down the list for submission. Also on the agenda are our guest speakers, Amy Pennington of Urbangardenshare.org and Galena White of the Delridge Produce Coop, both sharing about their programs and answering our questions.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 tonight, South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) board room (map). As previewed here, highlights will include deputy Parks superintendent Christopher Williams with an update on plans for West Seattle Golf Course‘s future, and a rep for Councilmember Sally Clark talking about neighborhood planning. (The next step on that is tomorrow night, at a meeting that’s not in West Seattle but needs as many WS attendees as it can get – the followup to July’s neighborhood-plan “status check” meeting and all those online questionnaires – Thursday, 6 pm, Mercer Middle School on Beacon Hill [map].)
Now that an assistance fund has been set up for the family of murdered Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, drives are under way to gather donations. And one of them involves Officer Brenton’s classmates in the West Seattle High School Class of 1988. Jay Havner sends word that they’re gathering at Pegasus Pizza on Alki this afternoon/evening and are inviting “any and all” to join them – they’ll be sharing memories and collecting “money to donate to Tim’s family in this time of great need.” 3-9 pm today/tonight, 2770 Alki (map). Meantime, SPD continues planning for the memorial this Friday, 1 pm, KeyArena.
(original photo replaced 9:46 pm with our clip of Constantine arriving at the podium – speech video to come) Dow Constantine vs. Susan Hutchison – results here. Constantine starts off with a big lead. We’re at his campaign party – huge cheer as the results were announced; he is not expected to speak until after 8:30. Rep. Sharon Nelson is speaking now (8:21) – saying it’s been “a long campaign against a Republican stealth candidate.” She says Dow came in and fought “for what is right … for King County.” 9:01 PM: Constantine gave an energetic, resolute speech – declaring this a “new beginning” for King County – but also exhorting Hutchison supporters to “join us.” We have it all on video from about 1 foot away (thanks to Teri from Furry Faces Foundation for assisting in crowd maneuvering!) and will upload the whole thing when we are back at HQ.
He stood next to his partner Shirley at the podium during his speech, after sharing the podium briefly with two of the state legislators who were among his primary opponents – Sen. Fred Jarrett and Rep. Ross Hunter. Now he’s giving TV interviews a few feet away from where we’re sitting in the media zone. 9:56 PM UPDATE: The crowd has gathered again here in the media zone – as the presumptive King County Executive-elect is back to give another round of interviews to TV people (and others), with the late news nearing; other camera-wielding types are starting to gather. We’ve added a video clip atop this story before finally attempting to leave the venue – his arrival at the podium, introduced by Rep. Nelson. 10:11 PM: Just talked to Constantine for a brief moment as he continues making the rounds – we noted that his presumed election means that West Seattle will remain home to one of the area’s top elected officials – he smiled, “It’s my turn to represent.” 12:20 AM UPDATE: Susan Hutchison has not conceded. Here’s the remainder of Constantine’s speech – 10 minutes, starting with some humor:
ADDED 1:33 AM: Our partners at the Times have a clip from Hutchison’s election-night remarks:
(TwitPic from McGinn campaign – new one substituted 9:13 pm) Joe Mallahan vs. Mike McGinn – results here. McGinn has a narrow edge in the early going. King County Elections is not planning to release a second vote count tonight, so the next update won’t be until tomorrow afternoon. Meantime, here’s a photo of Mallahan from independent journalist Johnathan Fitzpatrick (the Mallahan party is also at the Edgewater, where we are still at Constantine HQ – they’re two floors down) aka @jjtweets:
Johnathan says Mallahan says he “is hoping to be a successful candidate” — way too early to know how this will turn out. 10:06 PM: Adding a video clip published on YouTube by The Stranger’s crew, with McGinn speaking to supporters:
(Early Wednesday, substituted Christopher Boffoli‘s video – which starts with two West Seattleites! – for the original early-going photo that held this spot)
“Approve” means that the domestic-partnership rights law will take effect; “reject” means it won’t. Results here. Referendum 71 supporters planned a live stream from their Capitol Hill party here. Yes on 71 is ahead in the early going. WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli is at the pro-71 party and says it’s jampacked. 11:44 PM: Adding more photos from Christopher. Here’s West Seattleite Anne Levinson, who chaired the Approve Referendum 71 campaign:
State Sen. Ed Murray and partner Michael Shiosaki:
Sen. Murray said, “This is the side of the mountain, not the top of the mountain. We have a lot of work to do. This is an important step but it is still not fully equality. So tonight my friends, we celebrate, but tomorrow we go back to work.”
City Attorney – West Seattle incumbent Tom Carr vs. Pete Holmes Council Position 2 – Incumbent Richard Conlin vs. West Seattle resident David Ginsberg Council Position 4 – Sally Bagshaw vs. David Bloom Council Position 6 – Jessie Israel vs. incumbent Nick Licata Council Position 8 – Mike O’Brien vs. Robert Rosencrantz
8:19 PM – Leaders after the first round of results are Holmes, Conlin, Bagshaw, Licata, O’Brien.
9:25 PM: Conlin is at the Edgewater right now at the Dow Constantine party and just said hello – long enough for us to get a photo.
All King County races (which includes Seattle city races) are linked from here.
All state races are linked from here.
For national results, we recommend MSNBC.com – go here.
That dropbox outside the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center at 5405 Delridge (map) is the one place in West Seattle you can take your ballot all the way up till 8 tonight. If you get there before 7, go inside for the Voters’ Open House and meet folks like Delridge District Coordinator Ron Angeles (left in the photo below) – cookies, coffee, and tote bags while they last.
Just before sunset, we went out to look for afternoon sign-waving (here’s who we found this morning) – nobody in Admiral when we went through; on the Fauntleroy walkover, we found county assessor candidate Bob Rosenberger with supporters:
And at 35th/Fauntleroy, kitty-corner from where West Seattle-residing King County Council Chair/County Executive candidate Dow Constantinecampaigned this morning, a supporter of his opponent Susan Hutchison stood with signs this afternoon:
Here’s the schedule for results tonight: King County plans just ONE release of results, around 8:15 pm. We will have all the major results here on the WSB main page, along with coverage from some of the biggest Election Night events, including the Constantine party at the Edgewater downtown, and the Approve Referendum 71 party on Capitol Hill. (They’ve also announced they’ll have a live video stream online – here’s a link.)
For West Seattle, the document explaining changes and “rationale” simply says the maps for West Seattle were changed to “reflect the district’s commitment to support co-location of Denny and Chief Sealth.” The district site also now has a page linking to “walk route” maps for indivdual schools. The revised maps are to be introduced at tomorrow night’s School Board meeting and voted on in two weeks; West Seattle’s board rep Steve Sundquist has a community-conversation meeting this Saturday, 1 pm at High Point Library, where he’ll field questions on this and other district/school issues. There’s also an official public hearing Nov. 9 at district HQ. More on all that and the process overall is in the official district news release, which you can download here.
First, that Google Map from greenseattle.org shows the West Seattle spots where you can join in GREEN SEATTLE DAY – which means special Saturday work parties in parks and green spaces all over the city – lots of info here, including how to volunteer! Second, it’s NORTH DELRIDGE ADOPT-A-STREET — meet North Delridge Neighborhood Council reps and neighbors at Delridge Community Centerby 10 am Saturday, have a cup of coffee, get equipment and head out to clean up the area. As Nancy Folsom put it, “The city supplies bags, gloves, reachers, and safety vests (very fashionable!), we supply the civic pride.” Third, WEST SEATTLE WILDLIFE HABITAT PROJECT fundraising plant sale! 3223 47th Ave SW (map), 10 am-3 pm Saturday, selling native plants to raise money for the project’s demonstration garden at Seacrest. P.S. You can join the WSWHP’s group on Facebookby going here.
A bit of a lull as we get ready to cover the next wave of major news later today – revised school-attendance maps (4 pm), election results (8 pm) — so if you’re looking for something new to read, check out the WSB Forums for community-powered items including:
SIDE NOTE: Not from the forums, but based largely on WSB comments – the regional news site Crosscuthas a story today about the booted-from-Lincoln-Park-moved-to-Lakewood-Park cyclocross controversy.
Two updates this morning in the aftermath of the Halloween night murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, a former West Seattleite: SPD has just announced how you can donate to help Officer Brenton’s wife and children – go to any Bank of America branch and ask to contribute to the Brenton Family Assistance Fund. West Seattle’s B of A branches are in The Junction (4001 SW Alaska), Admiral (4323 Admiral Way), and on the east side of Westwood Village. Meantime, the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild says the reward fund in the as-yet-unsolved ambush – which also injured Officer Britt Sweeney – has now grown to $60,000. Here’s the tipline info from SPDBlotter:
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call either 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Unit at 206 684-5550, or the tipline at (206) 233-5000. Those wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637). Your text message should include “TIP486″ to ensure proper routing.
As for the investigation, SPD plans another media briefing in a few hours; here’s this morning’s update from the Seattle Times (WSB partner). As announced last night, Officer Brenton’s memorial will be at KeyArena this Friday, 1 pm. ADDED 2:52 PM: SPD has released a statement from Officer Brenton’s family:
“The family of Officer Tim Brenton would like to thank the community for the tremendous outpouring of support. Even with the tragic loss, Tim’s wife and children are finding solace in the support from the police community, their friends and family, and the community as a whole. We know that Tim would be honored and humbled by the limitless support that has been provided at the difficult time. We sincerely thank you for the generous emotional support, thoughts, and prayers.”
That video shows the scene this morning at the Fauntleroy/35th entrance to The Bridge – with King County Council Chair/County Executive candidate Dow Constantine joining supporters including State Sen. Joe McDermott. A bit east from there at the Fauntleroy walkover, sign-wavers included one of his top supporters:
That’s the candidate’s mom, Lois Constantine. Also on the overpass, City Council candidate David Ginsberg (shown here last night) and sign-waving on behalf of mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan:
The Constantine and Mallahan election-night parties will be at the Edgewater on the downtown waterfront – they’re among the many parties on this map compiled by West Seattle activist Brian Allen, who’s added more updates since we showed it to you early yesterday morning:
Whomever you’re voting for, tonight’s the deadline, though vote-counting will take days. You can mail it if you’re sure it’ll be postmarked today, but the really foolproof way to get it in, if you haven’t already, is via dropbox up till the 8 pm deadline; the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center (5405 Delridge) has one and will be the site of a Voters’ Open House 3-7 pm, and there’s also one at the White Center Library (full countywide list, with addresses, here). While this area (County Council District 8 in the breakout) has returned a higher percentage of ballots than any other – according to the county’s running tally – that still amounted to only 25 percent by last night.
Because the Alki Homestead is a city landmark, any change to its landmark-designated features must be approved by the city Landmarks Board – and the first step in this case is 
ORIGINAL 1:29 PM REPORT: Thanks for the tips about a helicopter search – we’ve headed in that general direction (Arbor Heights) and are making calls to law-enforcement agencies – details as we get them. 1:34 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police Det. Mark Jamieson says that Guardian One and SPD are helping with a King County Sheriff’s Office search involving someone who fled a stolen car. The call apparently started in the White Center area (17th/Roxbury) but we’re seeing the helicopter over the 11100 block of 35th SW in Arbor Heights. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart tells us the suspect is now in custody, as of just a few moments ago.
Now that 
Two updates this morning in the aftermath of the Halloween night murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, a 
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