West Seattle, Washington
17 Tuesday
That’s Kona, a Husky/Lab who is home tonight, two weeks after she was reported lost (her photo has been on the WSB Pets page all that time). Kona’s family says an incredible outpouring of help in West Seattle this afternoon brought a joyful conclusion to their dog’s odyssey. Claire writes:
I wish everyone in the world could have been there today to see the amazing kindness of every person and dog in Westcrest Dog Park today. We got a call about 1:30 that Kona (the black husky lab female who has been missing since 9/12) was spotted in the dog park with an injured leg. We sped there from work and I think every person there, and especially a couple with an amazing Malamute, helped lead us to her in the woods.
She ran out right between my husband and I and he caught her in his arms–she was frantic and running from the voices–but when she realized who it was I think we were all crying. (Well, Kona and I were anyway!) THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for staying with her and making sure she was contained so we could get her home. We took her to the vet and she has a fractured foreleg, and will go into surgery tomorrow, but I don’t know if she could have been caught if she didn’t have the injury to slow her down.
If I could lasso the moon for all of you, I would. She means the world to my husband, 4 year old son, our other dog Ernie, and me. “Thank you” doesn’t begin to express the depth of my gratitude. Blessings on each of you, and that karma will last you a lifetime.
(Photos by Kevin McClintic)
Three years ago – on September 22, 2008 – we covered the sudden arrival of an encampment on a city-owned parcel in eastern West Seattle, calling itself “Nickelsville.” Days later, police were sent in to clear the site. After a subsequent odyssey through more than a dozen other sites, most of them not in West Seattle, the encampment – still calling itself “Nickelsville,” though the mayor’s office had a new occupant – returned to its original site this past May, and the current mayor decided to let the camp stay. For how long? The topic came up briefly at a recent City Council meeting, and the bottom line is that the city is still developing its policies regarding homeless encampments – so no change in the situation appears imminent.
So tomorrow (Saturday), Nickelsville is marking its third anniversary, and its residents welcome you to an open house/party from 3-5 pm, including roast pig that they’re putting on the rotisserie in a few hours. All are invited; they’ll also be cooking donated burgers and hot dogs. And they’re planning a Parade of Pets, so you are welcome to bring yours. More in this WSB Forums post. The encampment is on the northeastern corner of Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way SW.
(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
12:32 PM: Thanks to multiple tipsters who say the SWAT team’s in the 7900 block of 18th SW and the road’s blocked off. We’re on the way. It started as a domestic dispute, according to SPD’s Officer Renee Witt, just before noon. They’re looking for someone accused of sending death threats to a relative via text message, and possibly also vandalizing the house with an ax, but Officer Witt says they don’t know if the suspect is in the house they’re responding to – the call came from a house nearby.
(Photos showing officers were added after incident ended)
1:03 PM: Adding photo of police blocking 18th SW down the street (since it is a SWAT situation, we are not publishing any images that would show the positions of the officers around the house). As is usual in potentially volatile situations like this, our crew is being kept fairly far back. We are also monitoring the scanner here at HQ.
2:02 PM: We’re back at the scene after a side trip to the Westwood apartment fire. The situation hasn’t changed much; police are talking with the suspect, who can be heard yelling. Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen was at the scene for a while. So was a TV helicopter that police asked to back off because of noise interference. We’re adding a few more photos.
2:16 PM: Police have gone in; suspect is reported to be in custody, and is being taken to the precinct.
2:48 PM: Added photo of suspect being cuffed – we’ve blurred his face; he’s in the tank top. He was last heard observing loudly that “20,000” police cars were in the neighborhood.
(“Before” photo from the city webpage for the sidewalk project)
A project announced in March, at a Highland Park Action Committee meeting is about to become reality: One block of new sidewalk, on the south side of SW Cloverdale, between 8th and 9th SW. SDOT‘s Doug Cox, who briefed HPAC six months ago, says today that work will start “in about two weeks.” The neighborhood has long been requesting this as a safety improvement for getting to nearby Westcrest Park, and now that more park space is being developed there in connection with the West Seattle Reservoir-covering project, $100,000 is being spent from the Bridging the Gap levy fund. Here’s the official construction-alert flyer (which says the work should be done by late October), and here’s an engineering document, for those who are interested in the most intricate details.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from a West Seattleite who asked not to be identified:
At about 1 pm this afternoon there were at least two suspicious people pounding and trying to open a safe in North end of Riverview Park (the corner of Holly & 12th Ave SW). One of the men looked to be a Caucasian male. There were two vehicles, one gray X-Terra and the other looked to be a gray sedan. The police were called and before they got there (only a few minutes) the cars were gone. They did retrieve the safe, it was medium sized and gray. They asked if anyone has any information to please contact the Seattle Police Department.
The non-emergency number is 206-625-5011.
(More photos added 9:36 pm; this one was substituted for previous cameraphone pic)
7:44 PM: Police and fire units are at the scene of a reported shooting in the 9400 block of 11th SW in Highland Park (map). We have a crew on the way. According to WSB contributor Katie Meyer, scanner traffic says the victim is a 20-year-old man, gunshot wound to the back but “conscious and alert.” Early description of the vehicle they’re looking for is a “late model blue Pontiac” last seen going east on Cambridge.
8 PM UPDATE: The victim is being taken to Harborview Medical Center. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand is at the scene and says Gang Unit officers are there helping investigate.
Neighbors say they heard four shots; officers/detectives are looking for casings among other evidence.
8:17 PM UPDATE: SPD Blotter has just published essentially the same info we’ve already reported – noting that it’s “preliminary and subject to change.”
8:28 PM UPDATE: SPD Capt. Neil Low just briefed media at the scene. The victim is described as in “serious condition” as he was transported. According to Capt. Low, the victim was standing outside a car, when another car went by and fired shots; the driver of that car discovered the street was a dead end, and made a U-turn to get away. The victim is believed to be from “nearby.” Though as we noted earlier, there’s Gang Unit members at the scene, they’re not confirming whether this is believed to be gang-related.
7:48 AM UPDATE: Police have added a few more details to that same item on SPD Blotter (linked above):
The victim sustained a single gunshot wound to his back, it was considered serious, but not life-threatening. Officers and Gang Unit detectives located one .40-caliber shell casing in the street and a bullet hole in a house in that block.
(UPDATED WEDNESDAY NIGHT with clearer images of the concepts, plus PDFs of graphics/info from the meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Along the edge of the three-seasons-closed Highland Park wading pool, more than two dozen people gathered last night to get their first look at ideas for the spraypark that will replace it.
They also learned that the spraypark won’t be open next summer – because the scope of the project keeps expanding, so 2012 is now when it’ll be built, 2013 is when it’ll be open. (POST-MEETING UPDATE: The spraypark itself *will* be open for 2012; it’s the rest of the expanded project, such as building renovations, that wouldn’t be done till 2013.)
The big question the project team asked those who gathered in the park by the pool last night: Which of three proposed themes (see them full-size here) do you like, and what do you want to see around the spraypark – places to sit, places to hangout, art, etc.?
This will be West Seattle’s first and only spraypark, so it’s of potential interest to families all over the area, not just in Highland Park.
2:55 PM: A bail hearing for the 25-year-old man arrested on Wednesday in Highland Park in connection with Tuesday’s White Center murder has just ended in a King County Jail courtroom. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand reports from KCJ that bail was set at $1 million; the suspect waived his right to appear in person, so was not there. Next step in the case will be a King County Prosecuting Attorney decision on filing charges (Monday’s the deadline), and of course two suspects remain at large – as the King County Sheriff’s Office noted in its official confirmation of the arrest (added today to our story from last night that first reported the suspect had been booked into jail).
3:22 PM UPDATE: A few more details have arrived in the probable-cause documents from prosecutors. Among them: Gang rivalry is believed to have caused the fight that led to the shooting of 23-year-old Sweetheart Failautusi. And this suspect (whom we won’t identify until he is charged) is alleged to have fired the deadly shots; we’ve transcribed the probable-cause allegation in our report on White Center Now.
One of our area’s most distinctive nonprofit performing groups is the victim of a crime – and hoping you can help solve it. Just out of the WSB inbox:
The Cabiri is a nonprofit organization based in West Seattle. We offer aerial arts classes for adults at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center and provide performances at community events and festivals throughout the Seattle area. We perform at a wide variety of benefit events and provide scholarships for nearly 20% of our students and we need your help.
On Monday night, August 15th, our vehicle was broken into in front of our house in the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle and a bag was taken that contained some of our teaching aerial apparatus.
The bag was a standard issue military seabag about 42″ long and it contained two trapezes, multiple aerial tissu, several black steel locking Omega Pacific carabiners, several 18″, 36″ and 72″ Polyester Roundslings (spansets) with “Cabiri” written on them in black marker, multiple Petzl rescue swivels, multiple CMC steel rescue eights, a can of Tuf Skin spray rosin and an iPod connector cable.
Attached are sample images of the equipment for distribution.
If you see any of this equipment or anyone approaches you about purchasing the equipment, please be aware that it is stolen and is property of The Cabiri. Contact the police and then notify us. We have filed a police report and would very much like to get this expensive equipment back, which we cannot afford to replace at this time. Total value of the stolen equipment is approximately $2,500.
If you would like to make a donation to help us replace this stolen equipment, we welcome you to do so on our web site: anunnaki.org/page.php?page=contribute or in person at the Arts In Nature Festival this weekend at Camp Long in West Seattle. We and our students will be there performing all weekend on both Saturday and Sunday.
We are devastated at the loss of this essential equipment and thank you in advance for helping us spread the word in hopes that it will make a safe return to us.
Sincerely,
Charly McCreary
Managing Director
The Cabiri performance troupe
http://www.cabiri.org
A Seattle Parks postcard announcing the next public meeting for the Highland Park wading pool-to-spraypark conversion just arrived – and caused us to do a doubletake. The meeting on Tuesday, August 23, is listed as happening, not in a room somewhere, but at the actual site, 1100 SW Cloverdale (map). That’s fairly rare – so we called project manager Kelly Goold to make sure that wasn’t a typo. Nope, says Kelly, the meeting is indeed AT the site, so attendees can better envision the design concepts that will be presented. So mark your calendar for 6:30 pm August 23rd (here’s our coverage of the first project meeting).
(UPDATE: As of 10:10 pm, STILL closed in the westbound direction)
If you’re heading toward Highland Park Way westbound (uphill) from West Marginal Way SW (etc.), sorry, you can’t go that way – police have blocked it off. We’ve had multiple reports of some kind of slick on the hill, with people “fishtailing” according to Stephanie‘s report via Facebook. A state trooper is there along with SPD (photo above), and he tells us a truck spilled fuel – they had been “following it for a while,” he said – and the hill will stay closed, westbound, till they can get it cleaned up.
Since that crash last Thursday, with a car hitting a house in the 1700 block of SW Holden, we have learned more about the circumstances and what happened to the driver who police say was to blame. And we’ve heard from someone else on the same street whose car was smashed by a different driver days earlier. Read on:Read More
If you’re in or around Highland Park, you might have heard/seen the response to this about an hour ago – what was briefly a “heavy rescue” call in the 1700 block of SW Holden (just a block west of Fire Station 11). We don’t have many details, but apparently this car collided with a second one (which was visible nearby and did not appear seriously damaged), went through a fence and into the stoop/front corner of a house. This was the second car-hits-house crash in West Seattle in a week; we covered one at 34th/Trenton last Thursday afternoon. SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl says their medic units were not used to transport anyone, but isn’t sure if a private ambulance might have been called. 9:27 AM: Just talked with SPD, but the report’s still being written, so we don’t know the circumstances, or whether anyone was cited. We’ll check back later.
Seattle Police have published another update on what the Aggressive Drivers Response Team has been up to. This one was a two-parter – one North Seattle, one West Seattle. For the latter, they worked on Highland Park Way yesterday – with the list of citations (see it here) said to include 11 uninsured drivers people driving without proof of insurance.
Sometimes reports like the following two will yield “yeah, me too,” or “actually, here’s what that was about” – so toward that end, here are two notes that arrived in the WSB inbox late last night, one from the Genesee area, one from Highland Park:Read More
(Rendering of the infrastructure it’ll take to run the recirculating spray park)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
While nature’s own spray graced the world outside the windows of the Highland Park Improvement Club, HP’s forthcoming spray park – or “sprayground” – was the main agenda item for the HP Action Committee‘s monthly meeting Wednesday night.
It was something of a meeting within a meeting, as the first official Seattle Parks community meeting on the spray-park project – to be built at the site of the Highland Park wading pool (above), closed for almost three years – started after a short period of HPAC updates.
Project manager Kelly Goold began with an overview of how it began as a simple project with $200,000 planned from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy – whose Oversight Committee had two members on hand, chair Pete Spalding (from Pigeon Point) and member Donna Hartmann-Miller (from Maple Leaf) – until Carolyn Stauffer, now co-chair of HPAC, led a plan to seek more money from the levy’s Opportunity Fund (as first chronicled here in early 2010). The proposal won approval, and the spray park now has a $635,000 budget, which means “we’re going to be able to build a more robust spray park,” Goold explained. He says the city has applied for an additional $100,000 grant from the state’s Recreation/Conservation fund, but won’t know till early next year whether they’ll get it.
After the basic facts – it was time to talk design.Read More
A car prowl in Highland Park stole more than just belongings – it stole precious memories that were all Mary‘s daughter and grandchildren had left of their husband/father, killed in the Middle East. Mary says it took her a while to realize that a public plea just might somehow help bring back that one item full of memories – one particular hard drive:
Last month my daughter’s Suburban was broken into when she and the
babies spent the night at my house. When I opened the curtains in the morning I saw that the back hatch was open. She ran outside, looked in and instantly started crying – someone had stolen EVERYTHING from in it. Two car seats and all the stuff that goes with them, a large emergency kit she had just put together, the dog’s leases and toys, yard tools that she borrowed from me, the brand new Easter presents for the kids, a bunch of toys and of course all the electronics. They even took the kids’ cups that were in the back seat, some miscellaneous clothes that were tossed in and all the kids’ snacks that were in the glove box. Unbelievable.The absolute worst part – they took two external hard drives. She had them in the console and was taking them somewhere to have one copied onto the other. The one she was copying belonged to her husband who died in Afghanistan last year. On it were the last photos and movies he took of his life with his military friends, what he was doing and feeling on his 9-month tour and the last photos of his life. The people who have this hard drive have no idea what they have done to my daughter – they took his life from her. Again.
I don’t think this was just some random kids prowling the streets and checking for unlocked car doors, these people must have had a large vehicle to take all this stuff away and while they tried to jimmy the ignition, they just succeeding in scratching up the steering column. We called the police and of course there is nothing they can do, this happens almost every night they say. Unfortunately the magnitude of this does not even register with them, it’s just another car prowl.
I know asking for the hard drives back is a stretch to say the least but I have to try. And of course if they get returned there will be no questions asked. Thank you.
You probably remember Mary’s son-in-law: Navy Petty Officer Jarod Newlove, the West Seattleite killed in Afghanistan ten months ago.
(Photo by Kevin McClintic, taken Monday evening)
Five days have now passed since the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” returned to the eastern West Seattle site where it began almost three years ago, at West Marginal Way SW/Highland Park Way (as reported here Friday afternoon). Its first stay there in 2008 ended with city leaders sending in Seattle Police to evict the campers, but that’s not going to happen this time, according to Mayor McGinn‘s office. We had asked his spokesperson Aaron Pickus yesterday about whether the mayor would seek to remove the camp as his predecessor had done, and the answer came back a little while ago: No. Pickus’s reply in its entirety:
We will not seek their eviction. By way of context, this site was originally a candidate for a new City Jail. We recently made a long-term agreement with King County that ensures we don’t have a to build a jail, though.
Last year, we proposed a plan for a safe, city-sanctioned place for an encampment to the City Council. While the Council has decided to not act on that plan, they have committed to weigh in on an alternative location by July. And we remain open to their ideas.
The camp had been at a former fire station in Lake City prior to its somewhat-surprise move last Friday. We’re checking with Nickelsville’s media liaison for their reaction; the newest statement on their website gives no indication that they had heard this previously, as it includes the entreaty: “Please let us stay. Let us create a community Seattle can be proud of. Attached is our plan for our home. All we ask from City Government is this land, and access to nearby utilities. We respectfully ask you and your able Deputy to negotiate with us.”
10:15 PM UPDATE: Through Nickelsville’s media liaison, their official reaction to the mayor’s decision to “not seek their eviction”:
It’s a relief that we can stay. Mayor McGinn’s administration recognizes the value of an organization like Nickelsville. It’s also particularly gratifying that, after 16 moves we can stay put for awhile and people can feel some security. And now we can have the dream of Nickelsville come to reality: a safe, organized eco-village that will ultimately shelter up to a thousand people.
P.S. A WSB Forums member asked tonight about what sort of donations the camp would accept. Two other members who have been there offered detailed answers – you can see the Forums thread here.
We’re not putting these under the Crime Watch label because there’s no proof either person was a criminal or intending to commit a crime. But the two people who sent these reports felt concerned enough to want to share them – a man who approached a child in Lincoln Park last night, and a man who turned up in a stranger’s back yard – read on:Read More
7:12 PM: House fire call in 600 block of SW Othello, which is off Highland Park Way (map). On our way.
7:21 PM: Scanner indicates the fire is small, possibly having started in the curtains. One person is reportedly being treated and may go to the hospital – what the injuries might be, we don’t know yet.
7:45 PM UPDATE: On the scene, firefighters confirm it was a small fire in some curtains inside one unit of a duplex, and extinguished quickly. They are checking someone out, but whatever injuries don’t appear to be serious.
(2009 WSB photo of Highland Park’s wading pool, which hasn’t been open since 2008)
Almost two years after the plan to convert Highland Park’s wading pool to a spray park first surfaced, it’s getting closer to construction: A public meeting has just been announced for May 25th. The Parks and Green Spaces Levy allotted the bare minimum to convert the pool, $200,000; then Carolyn Stauffer, now co-chair of Highland Park Action Committee, put together a plan to pitch for more money from the levy’s Opportunity Fund, and an additional $580,000 has been finalized. Now, it’s time to talk about what features the spray park – planned for the pool’s current “footprint” – will include. The meeting is set for 7:15 pm May 25th at Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden).
Around the metro area today, Rebuilding Together Seattle has more than 1,000 volunteers out restoring and repairing more than two dozen homes whose owners are unable to do the work, or hire someone to do it, themselves. And one of the worksites is in West Seattle’s Highland Park neighborhood.
RTS’s Margie Thirlby explains that today is “National Rebuilding Day,” with hundreds of other RT affiliates around the country joining forces to fix up more than 3,000 homes in all. The volunteers at this site were so busy, they couldn’t stop to share specifics of the homeowner’s situation, but RT’s mission is to help more people stay in their own homes longer than they’d be able to do if repairs and maintenance went undone. Look at everything they’ve cleaned out at this particular site:
Thirlby says they would love to see more people apply for help from, or be referred to, RTS – their website explains how. (And if you would like to volunteer – here’s how to do that.)
Two West Seattle Crime Watch updates tonight:
HIGHLAND PARK ARREST TONIGHT: Via Twitter and e-mail, we received several reports of police, guns drawn, at a home in Highland Park a few hours ago, in the 10th/Thistle vicinity (map). Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams explains that officers surrounded the house in hopes of carrying out an arrest warrant – and they were successful. Aside from the alarming-to-neighbors sight, Lt. Williams says the arrest was made “without incident” and the suspect is in jail.
JOEL LUND UPDATE: We’ve been following this 28-year-old suspect’s case, particularly since a judge allowed him out of jail and into the Community Center for Alternative Programs – requiring daily check-ins and classes, among other things – after his arrest in connection with a catalytic-converter theft involving an elderly victim south of The Junction. He subsequently was arrested last Thursday night and charged with assault. His bail was upped to $20,000, but tonight it is double that, now that a judge has canceled his alternative-program participation in connection with the previous charge. As court documents note, one of the conditions of participating in the alternative program was “You shall commit no (new) crimes.”
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