West Seattle, Washington
02 Monday
Sunny, warm, perfect day to think gardening, and that brought so many people out to Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle‘s first-ever Seed Swap ‘n’ Sale, the seeds were gone about halfway through the three-hour event. Community Harvest’s Aviva summarized it in a comment tonight on our morning preview story:
Thank you to those who came out to the Seed Swap ‘N Sale…and apologies to those who came after we were sold out. By 2:30 we had sold ALL of our 650 packets of seeds. Should have known…with it being the year of Urban Agriculture.
AND THANKS TO THE GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO MADE THIS HAPPEN! I’m grateful to all the gardeners who brought in their old seed packets for re-distribution and for the old tools…keep an eye open for their transformation! We will be doing a Veggie Start Sale in mid-April. Will have more seeds then.
Gardening wasn’t the only topic on the table:
(Photo courtesy Karen Berge)
From left, that’s Karen Berge, Deborah Greer and Cindi Barker – they brought along the traveling display of info about the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs (a project that’s an ongoing WSB sponsor – find their ad on the right sidebar to access the hub info at any time). Be sure to go here to find out where your nearest “hub” is, just in case.
Previously, the nearest crosswalk flags were at Dakota to the north and Dawson to the south. Now, according to this update on the West Seattle Junction Association website, baskets of flags are in place at the two midblock crosswalks in the heart of the business district. (They’re privately placed, not from the city, which has yet to expand the pilot program that put the baskets at California/Dakota, California/Dawson, and Avalon/Yancy in June 2008 [WSB coverage here].)
In the WSB Forums, there’s been talk of forming a network for Block Watch 
captains in West Seattle – since there’s no official way for them to communicate right now, they’re launching an informal organization. Several met to talk in person Monday afternoon – then at Tuesday night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, the next step was announced: A Facebook group is now set up to organize the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network. If you head up a Block Watch in West Seattle, go here to join. They’re not trying to set up a new place to report crime, but rather, to bring West Seattle neighborhoods together to prevent it. (Don’t have a Block Watch? Form one with the help of SPD Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow – go here.) More from last night’s meeting, including the latest local crime trends, later this morning.
That’s Benjamin Kinlow, crime-prevention coordinator for the Southwest Precinct, with Admiral Neighborhood Association president Katy Walum at last night’s ANA meeting. He’s holding one of the flyers that he circulates in neighborhoods that have burglaries but no Block Watch groups. The one he’s holding is the “first burglary” alert; if there’s a second in the same neighborhood within 12 months, and still no Block Watch, there’s a pink flyer; a 3rd one, bright yellow; and he says he’s even circulated some “4th notices.” His point: Form a Block Watch. His page on the Southwest Precinct website explains how. Just last week, he told ANA, 40 people showed up for a Block Watch-organizing meeting he led. West Seattle has hundreds of Block Watch groups; almost 300 of them had block parties for Night Out last summer. He was asked how to tell if your block HAS a Block Watch; Kinlow’s reply, “If you don’t know if you have one, then you probably don’t have one” – in other words, a good Block Watch is an active one; communicating with neighbors can be a huge step toward fighting crime. ANA will work with him to invite area Block Watch captains to a future ANA meeting, date TBA. He offered a few more random crimefighting tips: If you have a ladder outside, put it away – they can be stolen (for either breaking in through upper windows, or for metal-theft money); he also suggested “No Solicitors” signs for entire blocks – so if someone is seen nearby, you KNOW they’re likely a caser. One other date he shared: Picnic at the Precinct will be 1-4 pm August 14 this year. More to come from last night’s Admiral meeting, non-crime topics, in a separate report; but first, we have a few Crime Watch reports to share – including someone who just got one of those “burglary but no Block Watch” flyers – read on:Read More
Related to the ongoing coverage of Toyota safety concerns, our citywide-news partners at the Seattle Times have published a story tonight about an incident a year ago in West Seattle: Their story says a man driving a 2007 Toyota Prius believed unintended acceleration caused it to go out of control and wind up hanging over a retaining wall in February 2009. The Times says federal regulators checked out this and other Prius cases, as well as the other Toyota concerns. We checked our archives and it doesn’t appear the car-on-wall incident was something we covered. (Thanks to Diane for quickly spotting and sharing the link.)
This one’s gotten big enough it’s moved off the Pets page (like Bridge Dog a while back) … We’ve received multiple reports of two small poodles, one light-colored, one dark-colored, that have been on the run on and around 35th SW, from High Point to The Triangle, for the past several hours. This WSB Forums post from less than half an hour ago says one has now been hurt as they continue dodging traffic. We know some folks have tried to catch them but been unable to; sharing this news here on the main page both to warn you to be careful while driving 35th and to say, if you know someone looking for them, that’s where to search. Hope there’s a happy ending.
We just received a note from the Alki woman beaten unconscious while working at her job as a Metro bus driver in Tukwila one week ago tonight. She is out of the hospital but wanted to get this message out and is hoping you will answer her call for a sign of support:
I am keeping this brief because it is hard for me still to keep concentration but I am the Metro Driver involved in the assault almost exactly one week ago in one hour from now.
Dow Constantine is meeting with me at my home tomorrow [Saturday]. Change needs to be done. I will not say where I live, but I am in the Alki area and he is coming at 2 tomorrow, Saturday. He needs to know this sort of thing is unacceptable. If folks show up to the beach with signs and presence, I believe he will see that this does not just affect drivers, but the public as well. We need to keep pressure on for change.
If you can support her – send this around – use the Share This feature beneath this item, or right-click on the headline to get the URL for this so you can send it any way you choose. While she does not want to publicize her name or address, we believe it’s the central part of the beach district (Bathhouse vicinity). Meantime, as reported here Wednesday, a 15-year-old boy is now charged with assault in connection with the attack.
Among the stories we covered over the weekend – we learned from WSB’er “breanna43” via the WSB Forums that her mom, who lives on Alki, is the Metro bus driver hospitalized after being attacked on the job while her bus was stopped in Tukwila. Here’s our original story; we are following up this morning with safety concerns raised by her family. First in: King County Council chair Bob Ferguson sent a statement today:
I want to express my concern about the vicious attack on a County employee on Saturday. The County joins the employee’s family in hoping for her complete and speedy recovery.
As a regular bus commuter, I understand that safety aboard Metro buses is paramount. The County will investigate what additional precautions can be taken to ensure the well-being of drivers and riders alike. Bus drivers and their passengers are also grateful for the quick action of law enforcement in arresting the individuals responsible for the attack. No one should have to fear violence for simply doing their job.”
We have requested interviews with Metro/King County Department of Transportation to find out more about safety precautions and also about what will be done for this specific driver. Her daughter, meantime, tells us her mom is recovering physically but dealing with post-traumatic stress from what happened; she also has gone online and read the comments of support posted after our earlier story and elsewhere, and is “thankful that people are supportive,” her daughter says. The family’s doing some TV interviewing too; look for a followup story tonight on KING5. And we are checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office regarding the status of the 15-year-old arrested in connection with the attack.
1:35 PM UPDATE: Almost as soon as we hit “publish” on this story, we got a call back from Jim Jacobsen, Metro deputy general manager. He says they will be reviewing safety procedures because of this, though it’s been a while since the last time Metro checked into the possibility of enclosures for drivers; he says they’ll await results of the police investigation to see what else might be worth looking into. He says the system averages one incident each month that results in a driver injury. Drivers go through training to deal with difficult riders, he says, but in this case, their understanding is that it was unprovoked, and there was no time to go through any sort of “de-escalation.” We received early documents from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that indicate the suspect became angered because the driver, in keeping with Metro policy, refused to open the bus’s rear door – it was after 7 pm, which means you’re supposed to exit through the front door. The suspect is identified in documents as a 15-year-old Renton High School ninth-grader; he is due for a detention review in Juvenile Court at 2:30 this afternoon.
Back to Metro – Jacobsen says, most of all, “We’re pretty concerned about the operator and her family want to make sure she gets the help she needs and makes a full recovery.”
ADDED 5:31 PM: King County Executive Dow Constantine has issued a statement about the attack and Metro security – read on for the full text:Read More
Fast-forwarding – two meetings of note in West Seattle tomorrow night: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council is back in action after skipping December (as do many local community groups), and a hot topic’s on the agenda: A rep from the Seattle Police Traffic Unit is expected at the meeting to talk about issues including red-light cameras (West Seattle has two – 35th/Avalon and 35th/Thistle). That meeting’s at 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (map). Meantime, Sustainable West Seattle also meets at 7 tomorrow night (Senior Center of West Seattle at California/Oregon; map), with Coordinating Council elections plus an appearance by new City Councilmember Mike O’Brien – a full preview of the meeting is on the Sustainable WS website.
(WSB photo added 10:12 am)
ORIGINAL 2:28 AM REPORT: Thanks to Leslie (via e-mail) and Susan (via Facebook) for sending word of a road closure on Beach Drive. We checked with Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith, who confirms that “SDOT responded to a landslide in the 6000 block of Beach Drive (map) … SDOT determined the landslide posed a risk to the public and closed the street.” He says that right now, there’s “no time frame for reopening the street.” We plan to check on its status before morning commute. 7:38 AM UPDATE: Still closed, per SDOT’s Rick Sheridan:
The road in the vicinity of 6031 Beach Drive SW was closed late last night due to a landslide risk. Concerns about a tree sliding onto the road due to wet soil conditions caused the city to close the roadway area for safety reasons. Metro has been notified and will reroute their buses based on this closure. We will reevaluate the area once we have daylight to determine how to stabilize the area and reopen the roadway.
As noted in comments (also thanks to Robert for the e-mail tip), Route 37 buses are rerouted because of the closure. Metro’s e-mail alert says:
Route 37 inbound service is temporarily rerouted this morning due to a mudslide at 48th Av SW & Beach Dr SW. Please use stops on 49th Av SW north of SW Hudson St or on Beach Dr SW north of SW Jacobson Rd.
You can sign up for route-specific alerts by starting with the box in the right sidebar here.
9:48 AM: We’re at the scene and will post a separate update soon with video/pix. Still no ETA for reopening the road – SDOT still has to evaluate the stability of the top of the slope. It’s closed from the 6000 block on the north to the Lowman Beach intersection on the south.
Credit for the tip on this story goes to this comment (from “amused“) on yesterday’s report about changes at City Hall:
A spokesperson for new City Attorney Pete Holmes confirms that the office’s Southwest Precinct liaison, Beth Gappert, is moving. According to Kathy Mulady, Gappert is moving to the office’s Vice section (the assistant city attorney in that section is moving to supervise the Domestic Violence division). She says John McGoodwin, liaison for the South Precinct, will also handle the Southwest Precinct, though how that will be divided, “he is still figuring out.” (We are working on a follow-up interview.) Mulady says the East and West Precincts also will be covered by one assistant city attorney, Jim Kenny, and adds, “There is some moving around of positions, but Pete Holmes is well aware of the value of the precinct liaison program and respects the work the attorneys do in the community.” This is a big change for the Southwest Precinct, where Gappert worked closely with police on many cases, and also was a familiar face at monthly meetings of groups including the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council and South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition. She arrived at the SW Precinct in April 2007.
(Side note – if the name Kathy Mulady sounds familiar, she is a West Seattleite who worked for the P-I till it went online-only, and also did some reporting for WSB last year before going to work for Holmes.)
Shared by Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhoods District coordinator for the city:
Get connected to your neighbors and businesses in Cottage Grove and Youngstown and create a safer and healthier neighborhood. A community meeting will be held at the Delridge Library to learn how to organize an effective block watch group near your home. Benjamin Kinlow, Crime Prevention Coordinator, Southwest Police Precinct will provide tips on how to work effectively with the Seattle Police Department. Please share this information far and wide. Hope to see folks next Monday, January 11th, 6:30pm at the Delridge Library (Brandon/Delridge Way SW).
(And you can follow that up with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council’s next meeting at 7 pm January 19th, SW Precinct.)
New information today about SDOT plans for pedestrian-safety upgrades at the main intersection leading into Westwood Village, 26th/Barton (map). This follows another serious pedestrian-hit-by-car crash a week and a half ago, which led to much discussion here about the area’s safety challenges. The original announcement came from SDOT’s Jim Curtin during a walking-tour visit to the area (WSB coverage here), where he met with Westwood Neighborhood Council’s Donn DeVore, Westwood Village’s Stuart Crandall and Delridge Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles. Since that visit, Curtin has provided a list not only of the improvements he mentioned that day but also other upgrades in the works – including some at intersections further west, as part of the Safe Routes to School program that is moving on to Roxhill Elementary School. Here’s the full list:
* Short Term – to be installed in the first quarter of 2010:
o Both the east and west crosswalks at the intersection of 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St will be repainted and widened to improve crosswalk visibility for drivers and pedestrians and align the crosswalk markings with the existing curb ramps
o The signal at 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St will be equipped with new “Stop for Pedestrians When Turning” overhead signs
o The signage for the mid-block crosswalk at the Longfellow Creek Trail (just west of 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St) will be upgraded to our new standard fluorescent yellow-green signs
o “Stop for Me – It’s the Law” signs will be installed on SW Barton St on the eastbound and westbound approaches to Westwood Village
o SDOT will review speed limit signage to ensure that SW Barton St is properly signed
o SDOT will enroll the neighborhood in the Arterial Traffic Calming program for SW Barton St – this will start the data collection process to evaluate speeds on SW Barton St
o Westwood Village will paint stop bars at the shopping center exit to provide additional guidance for drivers by designating the location where they should stop
Read on for the “long term” list as well as other improvements recently decided, including those for walk routes to Roxhill:Read More
Becky got an unsettling call and wanted to sound an alert just in case – read on:Read More
It’s one of West Seattle’s most heartstopping intersections to maneuver as a pedestrian – and it’s in an area that’s seen two major car-hits-pedestrian crashes in less than two years, one fatal, another resulting in major injuries. But the 26th/Barton intersection at Westwood Village’s main entrance/exit is about to get some attention, according to SDOT’s Jim Curtin (a West Seattleite), who came out this afternoon to meet with (from left, with Curtin 2nd from left) Donn DeVore of the Westwood Neighborhood Council; Stuart Crandall of Westwood Village, and Ron Angeles, district coordinator in the Department of Neighborhoods‘ Delridge office:
Problems at the intersection were thoroughly discussed in this WSB comment thread following the December 1st crash that left a woman in the hospital, badly hurt. Curtin says some improvements are in the works and will be installed as soon as next month – including “fanning” the crosswalk striping to cover the 16-inch gap between the driveway and the crosswalk here on the west side of the WWV driveway:
Signage also will be upgraded from the current old-style flat orange to the new-style fluorescent lime green:
And yield-to-pedestrian reminder signs may be hung from the overhead cables:
But you won’t see left-turn arrows – Curtin says that wouldn’t solve the problem. You will see the road striping change within the next two years – not to add a striped right-turn lane heading west on Barton into the center, which DeVore asked about, though – Curtin says that the Bicycle Master Plan calls for a bike lane on each side of Barton in that area, so when that happens, the “one (car) lane in each direction” will be a lot clearer than it is now. The work’s not going to happen next year, he says, but is a possibility for 2011. That’s also when Metro RapidRide service is scheduled to begin, and a station is reportedly planned on the south side of Barton near Daystar Retirement Village. “So how do we slow down traffic till then?” DeVore asked. Curtin suggested it’s time to get this stretch of road involved in the Arterial Traffic Calming Program – which would mean gathering some data, for starters, about the speeds and other conditions on that stretch of Barton, as a first step.
The big event tonight is the holiday edition of the West Seattle Art Walk, 6-9 pm, at venues all over the peninsula – check the official site for more, get a map here, and watch for our preview of highlights later this morning. Also happening today/tonight:
ADMIRAL CO-OP PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 9:30-10:30 am today – they have openings in the 3’s class. More info including location in this WSB Forums post.
SOUTH DELRIDGE CRIME/SAFETY MEETING: The South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition is meeting tonight at 6 pm, at a different location than usual – Wiley Center at Greenbridge, 9800 8th SW, Room 104 (map).
‘PLAID TIDINGS’ CONTINUES: The holiday musical extravaganza presented by ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) is now into its second week. This week, in addition to the evening performances tonight through Saturday at 7:30 pm, there are two weekend matinees – Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are available online.
(Photo by Stephen Hughes-Jelen – “frost flowers” on a High Point pickup hood just after midnight)
Just drove from West Seattle to SODO, where we are covering the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s annual “Christmas Shopping Spree” event. Cars along the street are seriously iced (and were by midnight last night), but the roads are not too bad – at least the main arterials and The Bridge, which looked glazed, but LG – who drove before 6 am – has an opinion on that:
Back from airport drop-off and I-5 (south), 509 (north) completely bare and dry! The bridge does seem to be treated because it looks wet and if it weren’t, we would have been slipping all over the place.
Sidewalks and parking lots are another matter – be extra careful there – today’s temps are projected to stay fairly low, so melt-off may be a while. If you’re going to the Eastside, beware – one volunteer here who came from Redmond says, “We saw spinouts all over the place.” As for the forecast – the overnight update begins with a big bold warning, COLD THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. All should be well for tonight’s tree lighting in The Junction – just bundle up. 8:47 AM UPDATE: Just came back to West Seattle via The Bridge – the outside lane is coned off over the high rise in both directions – city crews are working right now on the eastbound lanes.
Francine e-mailed to share the story of something that happened Tuesday because of the road work shown in our photo above (taken Wednesday) at the far north end of California SW – it’s part warning, and part thanks for Good Samaritans – read on:Read More
A few people asked about a sizable sludgy mess in the street in the heart of The Junction this morning. We didn’t get a photo before the cleanup was complete about an hour ago, but we did nail down what it was all about, after getting a hint it had something to do with a bus – Metro’s Linda Thielke confirms, “Some power steering fluid spilled from a bus. Metro’s spill response team responded to do the cleanup.”
Quick reminder about some of tonight’s highlights from the WSB Events calendar — Fight crime in your neighborhood by showing up to represent, and to ask police questions if you so choose, at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s monthly meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct; help support youth-violence prevention by participating in a community dialogue tonight at 6 at Chief Sealth High School; celebrate the 20th anniversary of new WSB sponsor Alki Mail and Dispatch, 5-8 pm, 4701 SW Admiral Way.
As many expected would happen, the city says it’s being sued over the park/community center gun ban that just took effect (with signs like the one above, photographed by Hillary at Lincoln Park and discussed extensively here a week ago). Here’s its statement:
The City of Seattle issued the following statement on today’s lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association and others challenging the City’s recently adopted policy prohibiting the carrying or display of guns in designated areas of parks where children are likely to be present.
The City’s policy was put in place to protect our most vulnerable and defenseless citizens, our children. The City’s most important public duty is to protect its citizens from harm, especially when they are visiting City facilities. The City Attorney has secured the services of the Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. In order to avoid expense to the City, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has agreed to defend the policy on a pro bono basis.
Seattle Times (WSB partner) has more on the lawsuit itself, including a link to the court documents. ADDED 9:30 PM: The news release about the suit itself says that two of the plaintiffs are West Seattle residents, Winnie Chan and Ray Carter.
Couldn’t quite tell if there’s a blocked drain under that big gutter pond we found along 35th SW near Cloverdale (map) this morning, but that sort of “ponding” tends to hint at one, which is why – even as today’s morning downpour makes way for what’s supposed to be a less-soggy afternoon – the city is issuing reminders about citizens’ role in lessening drain-related danger. First, Seattle Public Utilities has issued another reminder about the Adopt-a-Drain program – and three more chances to get free cleanup supplies – details here. Second, property owners and construction crews are reminded to check out “drain socks” – those temporary inserts placed in drains to catch sediment – forgotten “socks” have caused big problems in the past. Here’s the full city alert on those. Lots more government info on winter weather is available at takewinterbystorm.org.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct will close again today – scheduled for 6 am-6 pm – for the continuation of its semiannual inspection. During Saturday’s closure, at the ceremonial signing of the tunnel agreement, Gov. Gregoire revealed plans for a new system to quickly and automatically close The Viaduct if a quake hits – with, among other things, gates on approach ramps; according to this story at seattletimes.com (WSB partner), the federally funded system will be installed next year.
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