West Seattle, Washington
11 Wednesday
Before we shift into Total 4th of July Coverage Mode, a quick note about two meetings just announced regarding projects you might be following: DELRIDGE SKATEPARK – Word from city Parks Board vice chair Jackie Ramels of Alki is that the first meeting about the proposed Delridge skatepark (reported here when seattleskateparks.org broke the news last month) is 7:30 pm July 30th, Delridge Community Center. SPRING HILL (the mixed-use building, not the restaurant) – The next Southwest Design Review Board meeting for this project at 5020 California is now on the “Design Review Upcoming” website for August 28, time/place TBA. (WSB coverage of its last SWDRB meeting is here.) UPDATE: The Spring Hill Design Review meeting has been moved to September 11th.
Two separate incidents – but both came to us first as reader reports (police reports have been filed too) from neighbors who want to alert you. First, Michael sent his report with this photo – we debated putting it behind a jump but it’s not particularly gory – just distressing, considering what his kitty is recovering from:
I live on 25th Ave SW one block off of Delridge between Hudson and Brandon. My cat was shot in the hindquarter with either a BB gun or pellet rifle. (see attached pictures) I just wanted to put the word out in case anyone else’s pet has suffered this class C felony and wanted to warn the neighborhood to watch out for their pets.
Not long after Michael’s report came in, we got this forwarded by Sheila in High Point, who also wanted to put it out as an alert to neighbors:
On Monday June 23 some kids were chasing a injured pigeon that was shot with a BB gun. A neighbor caught that pigeon and I called the Seattle animal shelter and it was picked up the next day. [An officer] said if we see anything, call the shelter at 206-386-7387. Nothing was done to the kids since we didn’t see who shot the pigeon.
Saturday night (28th) another neighbor was walking [in the 30th & Graham area] and found another pigeon. This one was dead and there was a small hole with blood, it had appeared to be shot. I called the animal shelter Sunday morning and told them what happened. They said since I didn’t see it happen they cannot do anything about it. Please keep a look out for kids with a BB gun and please report it to the police (911).
The jail forum (much more to come) was tonight’s biggest event but not tonight’s only event. At Youngstown Arts Center, area Democrats gathered to help West Seattle’s three state legislators kick off their re-election campaigns: left to right, it’s State Sen. Joe McDermott, State. Reps. Sharon Nelson and Eileen Cody.
And on the other end of Delridge, at Cafe Rozella, that’s Branden Born and Alon Bassok from the University of Washington, who will be there for the next few Thursday nights to chat with anyone and everyone about how the Delridge and White Center areas could be even more livable, framed in the issues central to the King County Food and Fitness Initiative. (6:30 pm next Thursday, join ’em there!)
The popularity of new Ercolini Park is a reminder of just what a playground, and park, can mean to a neighborhood. Neighbors in two areas of West Seattle are working now to make similar dreams come true, and we have updates on both: The first one’s a dream for this Admiral park that you might not even recognize as a park:
Just beyond the tree in the foreground, that triangle of land at California/Hill (map), immediately southeast of Admiral Congregational UCC Church, is indeed a park, called California Place (official city page here). Manuela Slye, who also happens to be opening the new Spanish-language preschool Cometa (as mentioned here), spoke to the Admiral Neighborhood Association at its last meeting about her dream of creating a playground there. She is in the very early stages of trying to figure out what that would involve, but already has a touching presentation (as read to the ANA) with children’s art and words about what it would mean to have “a place to play” there.
Second, in North Delridge, the “tot lot” project (previous WSB coverage here) for Cottage Grove Park is now seeking an architect. They are hoping to find a landscape architect that can donate her/his services for this small playground project, but there’s a possibility their grant-seeking could include some money for fees, so they want to hear from anyone interested. Read on for a full description of the work and who to contact:Read More
Belated report on last night’s monthly meeting of the Delridge District Council, one of two “district councils” in West Seattle (as per the city’s “district” map) – Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is getting ready for the second year of its program to harvest fruit from residents’ trees; City Councilmember Sally Clark talked about the latest changes in the process for reviewing neighborhood plans (and got to hear about some hot local issues since she arrived early, including the jail-sites fight); details ahead:Read More
On Alki tonight, the first clear night since the big beach-fire briefing at the Parks Board meeting (WSB coverage here), things weren’t too crazy at dusk – that fire ringed by tiki torches was the biggest one on the beach; Seattle Police kept watch nearby:
Right across the street, hours earlier, a cloudy morning didn’t keep West Seattle Moms of Tots from carrying on with a bake sale to fight childhood hunger — with this sweet (in more ways than one) cake among the offerings:
Selling the treats, Amy Evans and Cynthia Tamlyn, on the north side of Aimonetto:
As reported earlier in the WSB Forums, they are more than halfway to their $750 fundraising goal after this morning’s bake sale, part of a nationwide effort; even if you missed the bake sale, you can donate online here (look for the “make a gift” link on the right side of the page). Meantime, they weren’t the only ones giving their time to a good cause this Saturday morning:
If you drove along Delridge at midday today, chances are you saw at least one yellow-bag-equipped volunteer taking part in the North Delridge Adopt-a-Street cleanup. North Delridge is one of several neighborhood/community groups that make Adopt-a-Street commitments to tidy up a certain area at least once a quarter. And finally – WSB Forum Community members, who have rallied around many a good cause, got together for a fun time late today at Beveridge Place Pub – here’s one tableful:
And of course the conversation continues, online anytime, in the Forums.
Just in from the city Transportation Department:
SDOT paving crews will repair failed concrete panels on the west side of Delridge Way Southwest at Southwest Elmgrove Street on Saturday, June 7. (Last Saturday crews repaired pavement on the east side of the street.)
The crews plan to work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting with breaking out and removing the damaged concrete. One lane will remain open to traffic. Flaggers will assist drivers through the area. On-street parking will be restricted. When the new pavement has sufficiently cured, expected Saturday evening, the full street will be reopened to traffic.
Elmgrove doesn’t fully intersect with Delridge – this is the 8100 block of Delridge – here’s a map.
“Fire in single-family residence” callout in the 3800 block of Delridge (map) – right by The Bridge – WSB team member en route to check it out. 2:51 PM UPDATE: Small fire, “handled before (fire crews arrived),” according to firefighters on the scene, who are already packing up to pull out (they later told us it involved transients and smoking – the house is apparently vacant).
Besides these two anniversaries mentioned yesterday — the Skylark newsletter that just landed in our inbox reminds us, the North Delridge venue celebrates its 2nd birthday next Saturday. From the newsletter: “Next week we officially enter the Terrible Twos. Expect tantrums, public nudity, and incessant yet adorable questions from now on.” Skylark remains the only West Seattle eatery with a menu mentioning WSB (see why, here).
In Saturday coverage of Delridge Day @ Youngstown Arts Center, as well as in this report from the last Delridge District Council meeting, we talked about a new Youngstown feature making its debut — an Art Lending Library for the community. For the video clip above, we asked Seth Damm to explain — and show — more about how it works, and he had a few new details – including the delivery/pickup aspect! Drop by or contact Youngstown (website here) to find out how to “check art out” in this new way.
Just in from SDOT:
SDOT paving crews will repair failed concrete panels on the east side of Delridge Way Southwest at Southwest Elmgrove Street on Saturday, May 31.
The crews plan to work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting with breaking out and removing the damaged concrete. One lane will remain open to traffic. Flaggers will assist drivers through the area. On-street parking will be restricted. When the new pavement has sufficiently cured, expected Saturday evening, the full street will be reopened to traffic.
Maps don’t show Elmgrove and Delridge directly intersecting; you can see the vicinity (north of Thistle) on this map.
Two really big FREE events happen this Saturday in West Seattle – we’ve told you about Delridge Day at Youngstown Arts Center (11 am-4 pm) and now we have many more details about the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo @ South Seattle Community College, 11 am-3 pm, including free workshops with experts on everything from gardening to food to fitness – read on!Read More
A new feature is in the works for Cottage Grove Park in Delridge — a playground where the littlest of children can safely play. Organizers now have three options, and they’re hoping you will help them choose – just one of the ways you can help – read on to see the options and find out more:Read More
That photo is courtesy of Aviva with Community Harvest of West Seattle, which held its first container-vegetable-growing class at White Center Food Bank (which serves part of southern West Seattle) on Wednesday. Aviva sent us this report, including something you can do to help future classes like this:
Participants learned that with a sunny deck or patio, fresh vegetables could be grown and harvested our their back doors. Lettuce Link and West Seattle’s Backyard Greenhouse provided starts ranging from common leaf lettuce to exotic raddichio. Containers and soil were donated by individuals and local businesses (West Seattle Nursery, Junction True Value). We hope that this class improves access to the 5-a-day and increases self-reliance in obtaining healthy foods. We hope to continue this program and are soliciting donations of pots (1-5 gallon) – plastic or other lightweight material. For more info: info@gleanit.org
And as we mentioned Wednesday night, a big effort to improve local access to not only healthy food but more fitness options is under way in the form of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, with Delridge/White Center as an area of emphasis. Wednesday night’s update came with a brainstorming session at the monthly Delridge District Council meeting; read on for the latest:Read More
It’s in the Delridge/White Center area. Read more here to see if you can help. (That link, by the way, goes to a post on a new blog set up by Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie to share info on upcoming events and volunteer opportunities in the greater Delridge area; you can browse it any time at delridge.blogspot.com.)
First of at least two reports from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting — Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen had a little information about the mother and son shot in their Delridge duplex last week. He said both are doing OK; no one in custody right now but a possible “person of interest” was detained, then released pending further investigation. He also said the shooting was not random – the mother was definitely targeted, not sure about the 10-year-old son. Other news from tonight’s meeting included the promised briefing on “casing” (no revelations but good reminders) and plans for WSCSP’s first Officer Appreciation Day at the precinct. More on all that in the morning.
The wall along the sidewalk on the Delridge side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center got a facelift at midday today, thanks to a group of UW students — one of whom is Vitaliy Demyanik (at left in photo below, with participant Inigo Esteban), who manages a local College Pro Painters franchise. He’s a 4th-year student at the UW, and led a team described in the official announcement as “15 students from the Business and Economic Development Center at the Foster School of Business” in today’s cleanup, with donated materials and labor. (The paintout was scheduled for three hours, but when we got there barely 2 hours into it, they’d made quick work of it.)
Balloons mark the spot as Olympia Pizza and Pasta on Delridge marks its first day in business, two months after we first told you it was coming. 5605 Delridge (map); open till 11 tonight.
From this morning’s official police update on last night’s double shooting in the 5600 block of Delridge (WSB late-night and overnight coverage here): The woman is 28, her son is 10. Both are expected to fully recover. Police spokesperson Renee Witt says the woman “was in her kitchen cooking when someone fired multiple rounds through the kitchen window,” hitting her several times in the chest and leg. That was on the north side of the residence; then on the south side, someone – police aren’t sure if it was the same person – fired multiple times into the residence from the south, hitting the boy once in the shoulder. Still no arrests and no suspect description (beyond the possible “burgundy SUV” involvement mentioned last night) — but Witt says that detectives from the homicide and gang units are investigating and “talking to possible suspects” as well as looking into a possible motive. 12:03 PM UPDATE: Side note – two noontime tv updates included interviews with the owner of the future Olympia Pizza location we’ve been telling you about (former Pacino’s Coffee) less than a block north, and reported that it’s opening in two days.
(scroll down for latest updates – newest update, 2:08 am)
(photo of Delridge/Juneau roadblock taken by Sage K, added 11:53 pm)
Helicopter and many police involved right now in search centering on the 5600 block of Delridge. The call is “assault with weapons 14” which usually means multiple patients known or suspected. Trying to find out more. Thanks to those who e-mailed us with first word. 11:03 PM UPDATE: Whoever they’re looking for in this, scanner traffic indicates they’re not in custody yet, so if you’re in that area, be safe and be sure to call 911 if you see/hear anything/anyone suspicious. 11:05 PM UPDATE: One TV report says woman and boy shot. We heard scanner traffic talking about a 12-year-old male gunshot victim so we believe that’s from this incident. We’re also hearing that police may be looking for two suspects. 11:10 PM UPDATE: Victims taken to Harborview Medical Center, which indicates serious wounds. According to King County records, 5625 Delridge is a duplex. 11:17 PM UPDATE: According to the police media-info line, this started with a 911 call around 10:30 pm from a woman reporting hearing 10 to 12 gunshots. The media-info line describes the victims’ wounds as “non-life-threatening” and also says a third person was believed to have been shot at, but not hit. 11:36 PM UPDATE: Nearby residents say the helicopter has left the area, but we are not hearing any scanner indications of any arrests so far. Sage K does report northbound traffic is still being rerouted at Delridge/Juneau, where police have the road blocked. Sage also sent photos; stand by. 12:01 AM UPDATE: Lots of new info in update we just got from the Seattle Police media-info line. Most important: “Tentative” description of the vehicle police are seeking – a burgundy SUV. That’s ALL the information they have on possible suspects. Also, they identify the victims as a mother and her 12-year-old child. She was shot twice in the chest; he was shot in the back of the shoulder. Both are expected to survive, according to police. They say the search and investigation currently involves: Guardian 1 (helicopter), K-9, CSI, homicide, and gang units. Nobody in custody as of this report filed moments ago. 12:47 AM UPDATE: Sage K reports in comments that Delridge is now fully open again. No notable scanner activity in the case for a while, meantime. (We’ll keep monitoring till at least 2 am and will post whatever we hear/learn …) 2:08 AM UPDATE: For anybody still awake and wondering, no new developments reported. We’ll continue to monitor for a while longer, as we’re still working on an unrelated article that has to be done before the WSB newsroom shuts down for the night.
Thanks to Shell Marr for that photo and word that The Wash House laundromat on 35th (between Morgan and Graham) has abruptly closed. Shell adds, “It’s really too bad they did not make it, Vicki & Jim were just the nicest people and really made doing laundry somewhat enjoyable if that is possible. Thank you, Vicki & Jim …” Meantime, another sign just sighted, this one on Delridge:
We first told you two months ago that Olympia Pizza and Pasta was taking over the short-lived Pacino’s Coffee spot; it’s had a temporary banner up for a while, but the official sign just appeared this week. We don’t have any info yet on a targeted opening date.
First, regarding the report two nights ago regarding someone taking pictures and claiming it was for a West Seattle High School assignment — this comment just came in:
I am one of 2 photography teachers at West Seattle High.
We do ask our students to take landscape and portrait pictures that they find beautiful, so if you see students wandering and taking pictures of each other, random people or pets (they should ask first), bushes, trees, pretty houses, architecture, they may very well be doing their coursework. However, the story of the mother taking pictures of a car is not in line with any assignments I am aware of, and just sounds weird. Students shooting pics during the school day should have a signed note from one of their teachers, indicating permission for them to be outside shooting: you can ask to see this if you feel they are acting inappropriately, and please, contact the school with their name and location if they are. Students with inappropriate behaviors of any kind should be reported immediately to the WSHS Main Office.
Second, from that same night, the ants/power pole meeting in North Delridge – we have a little more information:Read More
Just wanted to let you know we’ve got messages out on this one, though we’d love to hear from anyone who attended the meeting we didn’t hear about till it was too late (we’ve managed to get onto dozens of media-info lists but sometimes something slips through) – The community-organizing group ACORN held some kind of rally tonight in North Delridge about a reported problem involving Seattle City Light and ants. Lisa kindly transcribed the flyer as follows:
“[ACORN logo] DANGER!!! Ant Infestations and Faulty Power Lines threaten our safety!
Join us to tell City Light that we will not put up with it any more. We’re taking action to address unsafe electrical conditions and ant infestations on county property!! We need YOU there!!
What: Meeting with Seattle City Light’s Supt.
When: Tues., May 6th, 5 pm
Where: 4716 26th Ave SWTell your neighbors, bring your family and friends! Wear red for solidarity! Call ACORN today 206.723.5845
During our recent wave of doorknocker reports, a couple folks mentioned ACORN stopping by, but nothing about ants, power poles, or rallies. The e-mails we got about the event tonight (thank you!) but not in time for us to go. (Went to the area a little while ago but no trace of whatever was going on a few hours earlier.) We’ll let you know what we find out tomorrow.
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