West Seattle, Washington
10 Wednesday
(Rendering identifying ‘opportunity areas’ at existing HPE playground)
Even if you couldn’t be at last week’s planning meeting for the next phase of Highland Park Elementary‘s playground improvements, it’s not too late to have a say. The community coalition working on the plan is continuing the online questionnaire through this Thursday – you can answer it by going here. Organizers note, “We want this space to be fun and engaging for all the families in the community” – and offering ideas in this early stqge is one way to ensure that.
Some people got candy eggs … some got chocolate bunnies … and at Highland Park Improvement Club, the Easter present was new signage for SW Holden. The photos and report were sent by HPIC:
The Easter Bunny made a drop-in appearance at HPICto help with the installation of our latest “Burma Shave” roadside signage.
We know our fellow West Seattle drivers are feeling the frustration of increasing traffic levels and commute numbers so we wanted to share some of our favorite signs of spring to brighten your commute and a little poem to bring you home westbound on Holden.
Be well and stay safe to all-
HPIC Board, Membership and neighborhood residents
Pictured are Kelly Lyles (bunny), Monica Cavagnaro (straw hat), and Kay Kirkpatrick (green vest), with help remotely from Judith Caman. Photos are by Peter de Lory. P.S. If you missed the previous display – see it here.
Two weekend road-work alerts from SDOT:
HIGHLAND PARK
On Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4, crews will be replacing another set of concrete panels at the intersection of SW Henderson St and 9th Ave SW. This is additional work to what was started last week at this intersection.Some parking will be restricted nearby to allow two lanes of traffic to flow normally past the work zone. Traffic control and parking restrictions will remain in place until early on Monday, April 5, to allow the concrete time to fully harden. This work is weather permitting, and we will share updates if the schedule changes. If possible, we ask you to please plan your weekend travels accordingly to detour around this work and avoid the work areas.
SOUTH PARK
On Saturday, April 3, crews will start installing speed humps in South Park. Crews will install a total of 18 speed humps in the neighborhood over the course of several weekends, starting with installing 3 to 4 of the speed humps this Saturday. The speed humps are being installed as part of the Reconnect West Seattle Home Zone in South Park to discourage speeding and cut-through traffic throughout the neighborhood. Work hours are approximately 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will put up “no park” signs near the speed hump locations in advance of the construction.
Three years ago, we reported on the completion of a first phase of playground improvements at Highland Park Elementary. It took years of community work just to get to that point, but it’s now time for the next phase, and time for your thoughts! Here’s the announcement:
Who: A community-led project, partners include the Highland Park Elementary Parent Teacher Association, Seattle Public Schools, and the City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods.
What: We are seeking community input to inform and influence the play area layout and play equipment options at Highland Park Elementary School:
When: Throughout the spring, we will be hosting three virtual design workshops and distributing questionnaires to gather feedback.
Open now: People can learn more about the project and fill out the questionnaire here: hpeplayarea.infocommunity.org.
Coming up: The first virtual workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, April 7 from 3:00 – 4:30, and folks can register here. There will be interpretation in Spanish and Vietnamese. This workshop is open to the public and children are welcome!
This round of planning is happening with the help of a $49,500 matching-fund grant announced last November.
Hunger-fighting help continues to be available from various sources. At Highland Park Elementary, family-support worker Dominique Pie is organizing another drive-up/walk-up/ride-up food-box distribution event. It’ll be outside the school at 1012 SW Trenton this Friday (April 2nd), 2 pm-5 pm. All welcome, first-come, first-served – don’t forget your mask! This event is co-sponsored by Together Washington.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two high-profile topics filled the agenda as HPAC – the community council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – met online this past week: Public safety and public art.
To talk about public safety, HPAC invited a neighbor, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, which was back in the spotlight again this week for a proposed cut in the police budget. (We explained her compromise proposal here; the committee agreed the next day to substitute it for the previous version.) “We wanted to hear your thinking” on the big picture, explained HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick. “How can we make meaningful change, while staying safe?”
Highland Park Corner Store is almost ready to open! Back in January, we reported on proprietor Meaghan Haas‘s plan for the former mini-mart at 7789 Highland Park Way SW. Today she announced that next Saturday will be her grand-opening day:
We’re doing a Grand Opening for Highland Park Corner Store next Saturday, 3/27 from 7 am-2 pm. For the Grand Opening, we’re offering buy one, get one house-made beverages all day – so the community can try out our menu!
After our grand opening, the Corner Store will be open daily 7 am-2 pm.
Our first phase of service is coffee, tea, and readymade items via our walk-up window. We serve QEDCoffee and Flying Bird Botanicals tea, Cascadia Chai (a spicy blend made in house), and house-made syrups. We also offer breakfast tacos from Sunrise Tacos, baked goods from Macrina and Flying Apron, bagels from Seattle Bagel Bakery, and grab-and-go sandwiches and salads from Homegrown Artisan Premades. Our seasonal special is the Honey Please Latte (aka HP Latte) featuring Seola Bees honey.
In a few months, we’ll roll out our own deli menu with sandwiches, salads, and grain bowls made in house. And by the end of 2021, we’ll open the interior of the store and offer grocery staples, beer on tap, wine by the glass, and interior and exterior seating.
Haas is a Highland Park resident leasing the space from West Seattle entrepreneur/preservationist John Bennett, who bought it last year to fix up as he’s done with other in-need-of-TLC commercial spaces in WS, Georgetown, and South Park.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
More than 70 locations for speed humps/cushions are part of the final plans for “Home Zone” traffic-calming in Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge neighborhoods besieged by detouring drivers since the West Seattle Bridge closed a year ago.
The plans were presented last night – along with side notes about a new stretch of greenway and the bridge itself – at an online meeting led by SDOT and Department of Neighborhoods reps.
THE PLANS: First, the definition of Home Zone:
SDOT did traffic counts at more than 39 locations and took three walking tours while coming up with the draft plan presented in January. They also offered a survey that brought 542 responses. 59 percent of respondents felt the draft plan was missing something that would make them feel safer – 300 suggestions came in. “About 30 percent were things we can accommodate in the Home Zone plan or look into further,” said SDOT’s David Burgesser. The rest were too general, not feasible, too expensive, or put aside for future consideration.
SOUTH AREA HOME ZONE PLAN
Two meetings about transportation projects in the week ahead:
(SDOT photo)
‘HOME ZONE’ PLAN: In the almost-a-year period since the West Seattle Bridge closed, neighborhoods including Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge have been deluged with detour traffic. The SDOT “Home Zone” plan for side-street traffic-calming will be unveiled during an online meeting at 6 pm Monday (March 8th). We reported in January on the draft plan, featuring added speed humps, flashing beacons, painted curb bulbs, and more. You’ll find information on watching/participating tomorrow, or calling in, by going to this SDOT webpage.
WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE UPDATES: The monthly meeting of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force is usually packed with updates, from the bridge’s status to low-bridge access issues to Reconnect West Seattle projects. This month’s meeting is at noon Wednesday (March 10th). We don’t have the agenda yet, but the link for watching the livestream is up – find it here. If you have a question or comment to send in advance, westseattlebridge@seattle.gov is the address to use.
(WSB photo: Crows watching over a newly mulched raised bed)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two weeks until spring. Daffodils are blooming. Tulips are on the way. Thinking about gardening this year? The most-recent meeting of HPAC – community council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – was for you. Here’s what happened:
GARDENING: The spotlight presentation was all about growing food. Chris Hoffer, community-education manager from Tilth Alliance, was the featured speaker, with lots of ideas and inspiration.
In case you missed it in our calendar and nightly roundups – Highland Park Elementary is hosting a food-box distribution event right now, until 5 pm. All welcome. It’s outside the school, which is at 1012 SW Trenton – face covering required.
Two Crime Watch reports today:
BUSINESS BURGLARY, VIA CAR: Also published on our partner site White Center Now:
That security video shows a burglar inside Grocery Plus at 16th/98th on Saturday night around 10:30 pm – a burglar who got in by crashing a car into the doors:
A member of the store owners’ family provided the video and photos, saying the burglar(s) “drove a mid-sized car/suv in a dark forest green color that police found was stolen into the front doors of the shop. Witnesses across the street have live footage they shared with the police, and the store also has a few surveillance videos that show the suspect rummaging through cigarettes and scratch tickets.” One of those clips is above; here’s a screengrab:
A plate from the car was left behind, and deputies told the victims it was stolen. If you have any information, report it to KCSO, and refer to case # C21005703.
HARASSMENT ARREST: A Highland Park case was spotlighted today on SPD Blotter:
An alert officer spotted a suspect from a harassment call involving a gun days later outside the location of the original altercation.
Police were originally called to the 8800 block of 9 Avenue SW on February 13th for a report of a man who had entered the business and threatened a clerk with a firearm. Witnesses said the man left the scene in a green Honda Pilot SUV. Officers searched the area but were unable to find the suspect or the vehicle.
On February 19th an officer on patrol in the same area spotted the suspect’s vehicle parked nearby and even recognized the man based on a tattoo over the suspect’s eye that was visible on surveillance video. The officer quickly moved in and arrested the 30-year-old suspect and recovered a firearm. The suspect is a convicted felon and legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. Police booked the man into King County Jail for investigation of harassment as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.
Ever since the West Seattle Bridge closed 11 months ago, transportation topics have dominated most neighborhood meetings. But this Wednesday, HPAC – the community council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – has a palate cleanser: Gardening. Here’s the agenda for the online meeting at 7 pm Wednesday (February 24):
Report from Waste Management on best compost practices
Presentation & Discussion:
Your Pandemic Garden 2.0: “You started it last year, now what?”
Led by neighbor gardener and Seattle Tilth Alliance Community Education Manager Chris Hoffer. Learn more about starting and maintaining a garden to grow food in the city. Meet other neighborhood gardeners and share ideas and inspiration!
Chris will take us through:
Getting Started: Beds, Boxes and Containers
Plants for Success
Tips for Long-term Success
Resource sharing + Q&A
Participation info is on the HPAC website.
Thanks to Craig for the photo and report that a left-turn signal is now in place for drivers turning left from northbound Highland Park Way to westbound Holden. So far, he observes, it seems to be contributing to the eastbound backup on Holden, though. The left-turn signal is a feature that SDOT had promised would accompany the “permanent” light at the intersection; a “temporary” light was installed days after the West Seattle Bridge shutdown dramatically increased traffic there, with people heading to the 1st Avenue South Bridge.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Shut down the busiest street in the city, and suddenly numerous other streets have to deal with unprecedented traffic trouble.
10 months after the West Seattle Bridge closure, SDOT is still working on ways to handle that – including the Home Zone program, a major topic at Wednesday night’s meeting of HPAC, the neighborhood coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. After community conversations and walking tours, draft plans have just debuted, and it’s time for your feedback, via a new survey.
Here’s a video recording of the meeting. First, what you need to know about what’s being proposed:
Around this time yesterday, we were reporting on a ground and air search in Highland Park for what was eventually described as a domestic-violence assault suspect – later revealed to have gotten out of jail two days after an arrest for attacking the same victim. The suspect, 25-year-old Ulises Chaires-Batalla, was charged today with four felonies. He was first booked into jail early Monday for attacking the victim in their Highland Park apartment. Court documents say his bail was set at $50,000 and he got out of jail Wednesday morning. Hours later, he was charged with assault and harassment for Monday’s attack. But by then, he had returned to the apartment, prosecutors say, pushing his way in, knocking over a baby swing holding their 3-month-old daughter, choking the victim in view of their 3-year-old and 5-year-old sons, then pulling her into a bedroom and raping her while threatening her with a box-cutter. Prosecutors wrote, “Perhaps the only thing that saved the victim was that she happened to be on the phone with a friend” when Chaires-Batalla showed up. Aware of the previous attack, the friend called 911.
During Wednesday’s attack, the court documents say, the little boys yelled at their father to “stop killing Mommy.” He fled when he heard the sirens of the police cars responding to the 911 call from the victim’s friend. In Monday’s attack, he also had choked her, and threatened to shoot her, according to those charging papers – again, in view/earshot of at least one of their young children. She waited for him to fall asleep before fleeing to a friend’s apartment in the same building and calling police. Their response included SWAT team members because she told them he had a gun; they were able to enter the apartment and arrest him. Chaires-Batalla’s bail is now set at half a million dollars.
If you are a victim of domestic violence – here are hotlines with people you can talk to now. If and when you are being attacked, you can text 911 instead of calling, if that’s safer.
3:03 PM: Thanks for the tips. The Guardian One helicopter is assisting police in a search for a suspect. We’re still trying to get details but police confirm it’s related to an assault. It happened near 6th and Kenyon. A victim is being taken to the hospital. More details as we get them.
3:16 PM: As noted in comments, K-9 is helping search too. They’re also extending the search east to West Marginal Way in case the attacker fled through the greenbelt.
3:31 PM: A little more info from police – who describe this as a “domestic-violence assault.” We don’t have a description but are going back through archived audio to see if one was put out over the air earlier.
4:13 PM: They’re still searching. Here’s the description from archived audio: Hispanic man, 20s, 6′, medium build, “full tattoo sleeve” on one arm, blue crew-neck shirt, tan shorts.
4:25 PM: Just in case you’re wondering – Guardian One is leaving, but the suspect remains at large.
7:20 PM: We’re covering the HPAC meeting, where Southwest Precinct Lt. Chris Johnson just said they know who the suspect is, and “there’s a whole lot of people looking for him.” The suspect, he said, had been arrested for a crime against the same victim, got out of jail, and attacked the same victim again.
9:13 AM: We learned this morning from Southwwst Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman that the suspect is now in custody. (We are following up further on the case and the reported previous arrest.)
If you’ve seen our recent coverage of Southwest Precinct police at community meetings (here and here) and have questions, another chance to ask them is coming up – SPD reps are on the agenda for tomorrow night’s meeting of HPAC, the neighborhood council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. The announcement also promises “a comprehensive presentation and conversation with SDOT Home Zone planners, to help them prioritize the traffic mitigation proposed for” the area. All are welcome at the 7 pm Wednesday online meeting; viewing/participating/calling-in info is on the HPAC website.
We told you on Friday about the Highland Park Improvement Club/HP Action Committee plan for today’s MLK Day of Service. Tonight, we received a report and photos to share with you!
We wanted to thank everyone who turned out today, 23 folks put in over 52 hours of time to help pick up, spruce up and do demo work here in Highland Park.
We filled multiple bags with roadside trash from the Holden/Highland Park Way detour route [please don’t litter folks] and from adjacent Riverview Park and throughout the neighborhood.
A small number of highly motivated, dedicated volunteers worked to pull down 100-year-old plaster from the Club dance hall ceiling preparing for the refresh to come. Special thanks to Peter, Bruce, Billy, Greg, Emory, and Shawn for a dusty job well done!
So grateful to all and thankful we live in this caring, involved community!
Kay Kirkpatrick/ trustee for HPIC &
Craig Rankin/ Chair for HPAC
P.S. Your next chance to get involved with the Highland Park community is at HPAC’s monthly meeting, 7 pm Wednesday, January 27th – an agenda preview and participation link are on the HPAC website.
(WSB photos)
The former mini-market at 7789 Highland Park Way SW is going to be a corner store again.
Highland Park Corner Store, to be specific.
Back in October, we reported that the property had been bought, and was being renovated, by West Seattle preservationist/entrepreneur John Bennett. Our story noted that he was seeking a tenant.
One of the people who saw that story was Meaghan Haas, a Highland Park resident who tells WSB she had been “looking for ways to be more involved in the local community.” That fit right in with Bennett’s stated hope of finding “a business that will make the neighborhood a better place.”
Haas has a background in the events industry – music, arts, and marketing, including time working at One Reel – known for big Seattle events like Bumbershoot – and the Vera Project. She plans to open the store in phases: “We’re planning to open with coffee service next month via a walk-up window, with deli service following a few months later. By the end of the year, we’re planning to open up the store with grocery staples, wine, and beer (including a few on tap), as well as a spot to sit down and enjoy a drink or a sandwich with friends and neighbors.”
In that first phase, Highland Park Corner Store will offer QED Coffee, Macrina Bakery pastries, and White Knuckle ready-made sandwiches; Haas is still finalizing other suppliers: “Overall, the goal is to source everything as locally as possible.” When she moves to the deli phase, that “will mean a limited menu of sandwiches and salads to start.”
But first, she’s just “looking forward to opening up and serving our neighbors – and the greater community of West Seattle.”
(Thanks to everyone who tipped us that the site had signs of a tenant!)
This event Saturday is happening in the parking lot at Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton), but everyone’s welcome, whether there’s a student in your family or not:
The announcement is from organizer Dominique Pie, who you can call with questions, 206-437-4068.
10:49 PM: Chris sent that security video clip on which you can hear what was called in as suspected gunfire in the 16th/Holden area around 9:30 pm. No word if police found any evidence of gunfire; no shooting victims reported, so far.
TUESDAY UPDATE: Police officially classified the call as “drive-by shooting, no injuries.”
8:15 AM: We’re getting word of a power outage – Highland Park, Riverview, Greenbridge checking in so far. Apparently a crash on the Highland Park Way hill is related, per emergency radio. Updates to come.
8:19 AM: City Light map shows 2,100+ out. The outage also stretches into South Park.
8:50 AM: Police are still at the scene of the crash. No serious injuries reported. We are headed that way.
8:57 AM: Crashed car is off the road on uphill side, close to bottom of hill. Both directions of traffic still open. Signals are out at top and bottom of hill. Remember, that means all-way stop!
9:04 AM: Texters report power restored.
9:29 AM: Updated map shows 281 still out, mostly Puget Ridge.
10:19 AM: And now the map shows everybody’s back on.
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