West Seattle Crime Watch: Is this burglary loot yours?
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One day after the Southwest Precinct announced arrests in the “BB Gun Burglaries” — in which BB-type guns were used to shoot out windows to enable burglars to enter — we have more information, and half a dozen photos police want you to see. Detective Ed Garcia, lead investigator in this burglary series (and others), shared six photos of recovered items that police hope to match with their rightful owners. Read on to see the other photos and the list of recovered property, and to get more information about who was arrested in the burglary spree, how, and who else is still being sought:Read More
West Seattle Weather Watch: Official briefing; wind advisory
Just found this on the National Weather Service’s Seattle website – they’ve put up the PowerPoint presentation from the official “hazardous weather briefing” delivered a bit earlier today. See it here. (Still awaiting updated forecasts — should be out any time now — but that “briefing” indicates the rain won’t be quite so bad here in the metro area, half-inch to an inch by tomorrow afternoon.) 3:48 PM UPDATE: The updated forecasts and advisories are coming online now – a wind advisory is in effect starting at 10 pm (read about it here), for starters, and it says 45 mph gusts are possible.
Getting chummy off Alki Point
Seems like a distant memory, but the sun WAS out for a while Monday morning – and these photos sent by Alki’s Bob Bollen (thank you!) are proof. He spotted the Endurance and Quandary out fishing Monday morning off Alki Point. According to this state bulletin, it’s chum-salmon time. (But we will completely confess to being fishing-expertise-deficient, despite having extensively trawled the state and tribal websites, so if you think/know these vessels were doing something else, please advise!)
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Citilights Electric
Next time you check out the WSB Holiday Happenings page – with frequently updated listings for holiday bazaars, performances, and much more – you’ll see a new sponsor atop the page: Citilights Electric, residential specialists who want you to know this about their business: “Citilights Electric offers full-service electrical contracting. Our electricians are certified, trained professionals able to work in a high-pressure environment 
while utilizing their multi-tasking skills. This assures you that your electrical project is given the enthusiasm and expertise you deserve and expect. We strive daily to provide our customers the highest quality and greatest value. Superior workmanship, fast, dependable service, and complete customer satisfaction are what you will experience as a customer of Citilights Electric. We appreciate the opportunity to bid your next electrical project or troubleshoot your electrical problems.” For a list of some of the services Citilights Electric provides, check out this webpage. Citilights Electric invites customers in West Seattle and vicinity to call 206/937-8495; you can also send inquiries from the company’s website. WSB thanks Citilights Electric and our other sponsors for their support; for the current lineup and info on how to be part of it, just start here!
Development dirt: Where does it all go?
(October 2008 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Driving by the Fauntleroy Place (Whole Foods) project daily, we started pondering a goofy little question once major excavation began: When you dig a big hole like that, what happens to the dirt? Since we (and other small news organizations around Puget Sound) work with the student journalists at the University of Washington News Lab, we offered them the assignment. Read on, to see how the answer turned out to be not as simple as you might think:Read More
“Reinventing” The Kenney: MoCA-FCA community meeting set
It’s been three months since our first report about the “reinvention” plan that would demolish that historic building and most of the other structures at The Kenney, in a $150 million plan that leadership of the retirement complex says is essential to its future success — at the project’s first Design Review Board meeting last month (WSB coverage here), CEO Kevin McFeely said, “… without this, we are not going to be able to survive financially.” At the end of that meeting, we reported that reps from Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association were talking about co-sponsoring a community meeting before The Kenney’s next Design Review session. Now the date for that meeting is set: December 4th. Time and place are still being finalized, but MoCA’s Cindi Barker says the city planner assigned to the project, Michael Dorcy, “will be there the first 30-45 minutes to give a recap of all the process steps the Kenney must move through” and provide other information the community needs to know regarding . The date’s being driven in part by the possibility that The Kenney might return for that next DR meeting on December 18th. We expect to get more information at tomorrow night’s FCA meeting (7 pm, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse).
Welcoming a returning WSB sponsor: Square 1 Books (sale!)
This season, the businesses that comprise the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor)invite you to “Live Local” — and at the top of the list, that means “Shop Local.” 
You’ve got a great chance to do that this weekend with a variety of open houses and other special events – and one of them is at at a longtime Junction store, Square 1 Books, which rejoins WSB as a sponsor to get the word out about its Anniversary Sale. To celebrate 21 years of serving West Seattle as an independent bookseller, Square 1 is offering 21% off everything this Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Square 1 Books is at Jefferson Square, a few doors south of Bartell Drugs.
Crime Watch update: 1st hearing for Fauntleroy burglary suspect
During a brief hearing this afternoon in a courtroom at the King County Jail downtown, a judge “found probable cause” to keep 41-year-old Richard L. Lovejoy (left) in jail until a hearing Wednesday on what, if any, bail amount should be set for him. Lovejoy is the convicted rapist arrested early Sunday morning (WSB coverage here, including victim’s story) in Fauntleroy, where he is suspected of breaking into a home shortly after trying to break into the Colman Pool building in Lincoln Park. Thanks to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office media liaison Dan Donohoe for providing us with the document used at today’s hearing (which we attended, though the suspect himself did not actually appear); it says in part:
Suspect Lovejoy broke out two windows at the Colman Pool in Lincoln Park. The sound woke up the on-site caretaker, who confronted the suspect as he tried to enter via a broken window. The suspect ran off into the park and officers were unable to locate him. A truck registered to suspect Lovejoy was located illegally parked at the entrance to the Lincoln Park beach service road at 7171 Beach Drive SW. Several hours later, a report of an occupied residential burglary came out several blocks away. The suspect (Lovejoy) in that instance was captured.
The report goes on to say that a witness from Colman Pool identified him as the same suspect in that earlier break-in attempt, and later in the document, under the section that asks whether law enforcers would object to the suspect’s release, it says “Do not release. Suspect is a convicted felon and sex offender (and is on active Department of Corrections supervision).” His sex-offender status emerged in the comment thread on our followup report; we found him in the public lookup system, registered to an Arbor Heights address, and that’s where the photo you see at above left comes from. The document from today’s hearing also lists his criminal history as including: Rape, escape, drugs, harassment, domestic violence.
Day/time set for next WSHS playoff game – and a bus invite
We reported late Friday night that Ferndale was next up for West Seattle High School after the Wildcats’ playoff win against Enumclaw. Now we know the game’s set for 7:30 pm Friday in Bellingham, and we’ve just received an invitation to pass along for WSHS alums:
Hello Alums,
Okay…we’re getting another bus to go to the State Playoff game this coming Friday! WSHS plays Ferndale in Bellingham, 7:30 p.m.
The price for bus (a coach bus – not a school bus) and ticket to the game will be $23 per person and leaves WSHS parking lot at 3 p.m. (traffic will not be fun!) But, what a great way to travel to the game! The bus to the Metro playoffs was filled and it was a great way to go to the game and support our
local high school football team.
If you are interested, please email me or leave a voice mail by 3 p.m. Wednesday, November 12th to save your spot and I’ll put your name on the list.
Christy Rowe
206-932-6953
carowe@blarg.net
Update on West Seattle’s BB gun burglaries
This just in from the Southwest Precinct‘s Lt. Steve Paulsen – even more burglary arrests (besides what we reported the past two mornings):
The Southwest Precinct is pleased to announce to the community that the suspects in the BB-Gun Residential Burglaries have been arrested.
Several suspects have been identified/arrested. Over the past 2-3 weeks, Southwest Precinct Detectives and Patrol officers (all three patrol shifts) have been working together in tracking down leads as well as processing trace evidence in order to identify the subjects involved. The burglaries have been mostly in the Highland Park/Westwood neighborhoods. Recent followup work has tied these suspects to the Beacon Hill neighborhood as well.
Detectives have also recovered several items of victim’s property and are working closely with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office to ensure that the cases are adjudicated in court.
Most if not all of the suspects have affiliation with Asian Street gangs. All but one of the subjects are juveniles and none live in the West Seattle community.
This has not been a good week for West Seattle-area Burglars. Thanks again to our observant citizens who report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.
School Board agenda: Fauntleroy vote, school-closure notice
We reported Friday night on the plan for this Wednesday’s Seattle School Board meeting to include a vote on the proposal for changing the public-notice requirements when school closures are to be proposed; the district says it needs the changes because it must move quickly on the next round of closure proposals (the list is due out 11/25). Among other things, they’re cutting community newspapers out of the formal (paid) advance-notice-publication process and just including them on the “outreach” list (we can’t help but notice even the “revised” policy seems outdated because it has no mention of online-only local-news operations like WSB, and in fact doesn’t mention ANY websites aside from the SPS site; at least we are on the SPS media list so we get and publish these notices anyway). If you have anything to say about the changes, you should read the entire policy and send your thoughts to the board, or show up on Wednesday night. Meantime, the posted agenda for that same meeting (6 pm Wednesday, district HQ in Sodo) also includes a vote on the $1.8 million deal to sell the Fauntleroy schoolhouse to the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency (first reported here a month ago).
West Seattle briefing: Elevated landslide risk
(click to see larger, citywide version)
That’s part of a city map distributed at a media briefing we attended this morning at Don Armeni (with the steep slide-prone slope of California Way, and North Admiral ridgetop homes, as a backdrop) – red marks the steepest areas, blue marks other potential landslide zones. Reps from Seattle Public Utilities and the Department of Planning and Development warn that last week’s heavy, sustained rain raised the landslide risk – and one more storm (there’s more rain in the forecast) could elevate it further – so they are distributing information on what to look out for, as well as publicizing a workshop you’ll want to attend if your home or business is in a potential slide zone – read on to find out more, and to hear about one of the West Seattle spots that experts watch closely:Read More
Update: Burglary suspects arrested in Admiral neighborhood
(photos by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Thanks to everyone who’s e-mailed us with a tip about this – major police activity in the Belvidere/Admiral area (map). Police there tell us there’s a possible burglary suspect in a house there. More to come. P.S. That’s also why you are hearing/seeing helicopters – there’s at least one news chopper in the area. 11:43 AM UPDATE: This is breaking up now – two suspects have just been arrested. ADDED 12:28 PM: Here’s Christopher’s photo of one suspect – we are not showing his face because at this point, he is not formally charged (that would come later and be up to prosecutors):
Click ahead for one more photo PLUS a brief update on the Sunday morning burglary arrest in Fauntleroy (Southwest Precinct police have been busy!!!!):Read More
Veterans Day tomorrow: Various notes (plus one for today)
Tomorrow’s Veterans Day, and it was suggested back on Columbus Day that we put up the “who’s closed” reminders a day in advance rather than waiting till the day itself. So here goes. First, a couple more notes: Even if you didn’t answer the call on Friday, Alki Elementary invites any and all local veterans to come be honored at its assembly this afternoon, 2:15 pm, school cafeteria; also, a full list of major statewide Veterans Day events can be found on this state-website page.
Again, the following is all for TOMORROW, Tuesday 11/11/08:
BANKS: Most if not all closed
MAIL: Regular delivery, no; Express Mail, yes.
SCHOOLS: Closed
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Most facilities closed, including community centers (and just-reopened Southwest Pool)
PARKING: Free in the Seattle spots where you’d usually pay meters/pay stations
TRANSIT: Regular (with a few exceptions, Metro info here, Sound Transit info here)
LIBRARIES: Closed
TRASH/RECYCLING PICKUP: Normal
West Seattle Gas Price Watch: $1-something in sight?
Considering the lowest posted gas price in West Seattle on our latest late-Sunday-night weekly survey is less than a quarter away from being sub-$2 — with prices having dropped about 2 dollars since their peak less than 5 months ago — that’s not such a ridiculous question to ask. Read on for our full list of West Seattle gas stations’ prices (for regular and premium) as of a few hours ago (with comparison numbers for previous weeks/months):Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Arrest update; Admiral break-in
2 reports tonight: First, SPD Blotter has posted more details on the incident that sparked the helicopter-assisted search and arrest we reported early this morning (previous WSB coverage here). Seems the 41-year-old man eventually arrested for burglarizing a home in the 4300 block of Cloverdale (map) also is suspected of trying to break into another house near Lincoln Park first. Read the details here. ADDED 8:17 PM: Just posted as a comment on our original early-morning report, Kelly tells the story firsthand:
Hi All: I was the victim in this incident. A white male broke into my house in Fauntleroy last night around 12:30. I’m a single mom, home alone with two young kids (5 and 3). The guy tried kicking in my side door and then walked around up front and kicked in my front door. That noise woke me up and I went downstairs to see what was going on… and froze on my landing as I looked down and saw this jack ass standing in my doorway. I backtracked upstairs, had a complete and total moral dilemma about what to do next: cell phone and interior lock were in my bedroom, to the right but to the left were my kids’ rooms. I headed into my bedroom, locked the door, and called 911 from my balcony. The burglar juggled on the bedroom door handle and… I don’t remember much then. The police arrived within probably 5 minutes. They had been in the neighborhood because the same person had tried to break into Colman Pool (earlier) and they were just winding up their search for him in Lincoln Park. I was lucky. The police had already identified the suspect from his truck and apparently was a level one sex offender. The guy ran with a few of my household items and the police found him a few blocks away. I was taken to that scene and identified him. It was awful and scary and shattering considering the fact I thought this neighborhood was so safe. The police were excellent and gave me a lot of good pointers for security on my house. At least next time, if it happens, I’ll be more prepared.
Thanks to Kelly for sharing her story. (continuing with original 7 pm post) Meantime, we’ve just received e-mail about an Admiral break-in this weekend, including a plea for neighbors everywhere to be more watchful — read on:Read More
North Delridge park sights – and a special event ahead for one
Among the joys of attending neighborhood-group meetings for WSB news reports: Learning more about cherished features of each neighborhood — some of which we’ve managed to miss even though we’ve lived in West Seattle for 17 years. Above, one such feature – the labyrinth in the “recovery garden” at the southwest corner of Cottage Grove Park in North Delridge (map). We checked it out because of an announcement at last week’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting: A candlelight winter-solstice event is being planned at the labyrinth, 6-8 pm December 21st – “candles, cider, music,” promised Michal-Ann McElhany, who ran the NDNC meeting this time. She also has gotten the labyrinth listed on the worldwide Labyrinth Locator; see it on this page with Seattle’s nine other listed labyrinths. (The solstice walk is now on our Holiday Happenings page.) Meantime, not too far north of there, a random blog post that came up in one of our routine searches called our attention to this public artwork on the west side of the park area at Delridge Community Center/Playfield (here’s a map):
The blog post (see it here) expressed delight in discovering that the third, darker boulder in the group (our photo doesn’t show part of the westernmost boulder because of tagger vandalism) isn’t a boulder at all, but a bronze sculpture. Subsequently searching for more information, we found this bit of the 1994 installation’s history – and thought we’d share for anyone else who’d never noticed before. P.S. Speaking of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council — congrats on another successful Adopt-a-Street cleanup yesterday — eight volunteers spent several hours brightening the neighborhood, and the rain stopped just in time. NDNC also has entered a new phase in the Cottage Grove Park tot-lot project; more on that to come.
Less than 2 weeks after
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