West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
3 more Crime Watch notes this morning – but they start on a positive note, with this e-mail from Laura:
Good news for one West Seattle family! The police found our 2007 Acura (stolen last Friday night at 41st & Brandon) parked in front of a fire hydrant on Delridge near the Skylark Café. SPD ran the plates before ticketing it, it came up stolen, and they called us to come retrieve it. Damage appears to be negligible though we haven’t seen it in the daylight yet. We are grateful to SPD for their help in getting our car back!
We also have updates from two of this week’s meetings – South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Partnership Thursday night, Fairmount Community Association Wednesday night – with graffiti vandalism among the hot topics at both – read on:Read More
First – Thanks to Nancy Woodland – who you know from WestSide Baby, but is acting here as an Alki Elementary PTA volunteer, sharing that photo and this report:
This morning more than 100 Alki Elementary kids, teachers and parents were joined by the Seattle Fire Department to celebrate Walk This Way Day. With support from Safe Kids, students were reminded how easy it is to walk or bike to school and how important it is for drivers to use caution when kids are present. Parent drivers were even surprised to be handed a cookie along with information about bus zones, speed limits and drop-off protocol!
Second – The annual Walk-A-Thon fundraiser at Lafayette Elementary is tomorrow, and organizers say it’ll be bigger than ever, in more ways than one. The biggest way: The school has 60 more students — two additional classes (kindergarten and 1st grade). Kids, teachers and other school staffers will be participating, along with community volunteers, between 9 am and 3 pm on the school playground (along Lander, west of California). This year, the Walk-A-Thon has more than 100 business/community sponsors – including WSB; we are proud to be able to co-sponsor community events, so when you go around recruiting sponsors for yours, be sure to contact us too!
The central Lincoln Park playground photo above – sent by Hillary – is the first one we’ve heard of (let us know if you’ve already seen one somewhere else). This comes one week after the city announced it would start putting up signs announcing the new rule banning guns at park facilities where children/youth are likely to be present, but the announcement (see it here) hadn’t specified a timetable, aside from the plan to have all affected facilities posted by December 1st. Hillary was surprised by the sign and added these comments in her e-mail to WSB:
I saw the sign for the first time today, and was very disturbed by both the content and the placement of the sign. We moved from the East Coast over a year ago, and settled near Lincoln Park because of the peaceful community ambience of the Fauntleroy/Arbor Heights area. Had I seen these signs in Seattle parks as a prospective home buyer, I would have chosen the ‘burbs, assuming there must be firearm problems if there have to be signs on playgrounds. (Which, now that I live here, know is not the case). Signs and laws don’t dissuade gang members from wielding their guns in any public location, unfortunately. As far as I’m concerned, the only things these signs accomplish are decreased property values and creating unnecessary fear in law-abiding citizens.
I had to respond to my 2 year-olds questions about “The sign with the gun on it” today…. Maybe they should also post “No Drugs” and “No Sex” signs at the park. I’d love to have to explain those things to him while he’s still in preschool. (I am, of course, angrily sarcastic).
You can expect to see dozens more signs like that around West Seattle, since the city announcement last week said the signs would be posted at:
* 26 community centers
* four environmental learning centers
* 10 pools
* 30 wading pools and water play areas
* two small craft centers
* two specialized facilities (tennis center, performing arts center)
* 139 playgrounds and play areas
* 213 ballfields
* six late night recreation sites
* three teen life centers
* 82 outdoor tennis and basketball courts
* two skateparks
* five golf courses
P.S. The mayoral candidates were asked about the park gun ban during tonight’s debate on KING5 – watch their answers, starting here.
ADDED 4:45 PM THURSDAY: Some commenters asked about the cost of the signs. We asked the Parks Department for the information, and Joelle Ligon replies:
So far, we have ordered 150 signs for a cost of $2,500. We anticipate ordering another (approximately) 350 signs for another $5,200. We will also order some replacement signs for ones that are vandalized or damaged in some other way, which we anticipate will cost in the $250 range. The grand total for the cost of fabricating all the signs is around $10,000.
The cost of installing them is included in the jobs of our installation maintenance crews, who do this type of work normally.
Big group at Tuesday night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – so big that president Dot Beard exclaimed not once, but twice, how great it was to see them all. No special guest on the agenda, just an hour-plus of information about crime trends, questions/answers about crime concerns, an update from the local State Liquor Control Board officer, and word that West Seattle’s police force is growing – highlights ahead:Read More
From tonight’s Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership meeting at Madison Middle School: First up on the agenda, the future Westwood Village liquor store, and concerns about its proximity to Seattle Public Schools-owned Southwest Athletic Complex (as shown in Google Street View above – field’s south side at left, back side of future store location at right). Westwood Neighborhood Council‘s Donn DeVore recapped conversations he’s had with State Liquor Control Board reps and said the location seemed to be a done deal before anyone in the community heard about it. If that’s so, a few attendees suggested, perhaps productive next steps would be to work to keep signage off the stadium-facing side of the building and to talk with police about patroling behind that building (also home to medical offices and Staples); Westwood neighbors say they’d been noticing an increase in empty malt-liquor bottles around 26th/Trenton and fear the liquor-store move could increase that. Delridge District Neighborhood Service Coordinator Ron Angeles offered info about other West Seattle meetings addressing such concerns – like the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council (also held tonight – our report is coming up) and the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition (this Thursday, 6 pm, St. James Place). In other efforts, it’s almost Red Ribbon Week, which will be marked at local high schools, including (as mentioned here this morning) with special decals on helmets during the West Seattle High School–Chief Sealth High School football game Friday night; next week, students at Madison will make posters about positive choices. The Healthy Youth Partnership also is working on arranging a teen-drinking presentation by West Seattle/Vashon addiction/mental-health expert Stephen Brogan. Want to get involved with SWHYP? Contact Renae Gaines – rtgaines@seattleschools.org.
More than 60 people gathered at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene last night to brainstorm, commiserate, and most of all, prepare to fight back against burglaries and car prowls in the greater Fairmount Springs neighborhood – neighborhood organizer and e-mail-list-keeper Paul says his list, approaching 200 members, has grown to include folks in a wide area between The Junction and Morgan Junction. We reported last night on a side discussion at the meeting – how to handle door-to-door solicitors. Now, the main discussion: what can be done to deter crime. Some of it, you’ve heard before; some of it, maybe not. Read on:Read More
When the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership meets next Tuesday, one of the agenda items centers on the planned new location of a liquor store in Westwood Village (as first reported here a month ago, it’s intended to replace the one that closed in Morgan Junction last year). Donn DeVore of the Westwood Neighborhood Council is concerned about the location’s proximity to Sealth/Denny playfields and the Southwest Athletic Complex, just across SW Trenton from the back of the store, which is supposed to take over part of the Famous Footwear space on the north side of the shopping center – in Google Street View above, you can see the southern stairs from the SWAC field at left, the back of the liquor store’s future home at right. (Coincidentally, info about the Healthy Youth Partnership, which focuses primarily on underage drinking, is to be handed out at SWAC tonight before/during the Sealth homecoming game.) Tuesday night’s meeting is at Madison Middle School, 6 pm.
SANCTUARY AT ADMIRAL BENEFIT FOR CAFE REVO CHEF’S FAMILY: Appetizers, wine, Italian dinner, and the movie “Big Night,” 6 pm tonight to benefit the Sean Goff Memorial Fund. Tickets in advance at Cafe Revo, 2940 SW Avalon Way. Here’s our preview from yesterday.
TRAFFIC JUSTICE SUMMIT: Cascade Bicycle Club and others concerned about small (or nonexistent) penalties for those who hit and kill bicyclists and pedestrians have organized this meeting, Bertha Landes Knight Room at City Hall downtown , 5:30 pm. Details here.
CITY COUNCIL BUDGET HEARING: Concerned about libraries – or any other city service? Show up and be heard. Northwest African American Museum (map), 5:30 pm. Details here.
Just in from the city – the rule banning guns at “facilities where children and youth are likely to be present” is starting to take effect. The city says the rule won’t be in effect at any specific facility until it is posted there; one of the first two places where the notices will go up is South Park Community Center, and all other affected facilities will be posted by Dec. 1, according to the announcement, which you can read in its entirety ahead:Read More
Renae Gaines, who coordinates the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership, a community group working to fight drinking and other dangerous choices among young people, forwards news that 15-year-old Nick Barnes, killed by alcohol after a Lewis County party last weekend, had attended Madison Middle School here in West Seattle. Here’s the Seattle Times (WSB partner) story about the incident. A schoolwide note shared by Renae says many at Madison knew Nick well, and asks for thoughts and prayers on behalf of his family. You can get involved in the West Seattle group’s work to help local kids avoid this kind of deadly danger – its next meeting is 6 pm next Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Madison library (3429 45th SW).
A few more scenes from the (very busy) West Seattle weekend that just wrapped up: One day after the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time-capsule celebration (our Saturday reports are here and here), Eilene Hutchinson and Libby Carr from the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project were out serving leftover “time capsule cake.” (Thanks to Mark Matassa for the photo.) Now rewinding a bit further into the weekend:
Genevieve Aguilar photographed Fandango at DNDA‘s LINKS barbecue, held indoors on soggy Saturday; by later Saturday afternoon, the weather cleared enough for outdoor fun, including this goofy act at Holy Rosary School’s Westfest, with TV personality Jim Dever and son:
At the Southwest Branch Library on Saturday afternoon, Friends of SBL invited patrons to come meet new branch manager Jane Appling (at right in the pink shirt):
And we wanted to mention a few words about the Communications Hubs radio test on Friday night – this is Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker outside West Seattle Thriftway (the MJ “hub”) during the drill:
Cindi Barker, also from MoCA (but no relation to Deb), sent a report on how the test went (it involved small handheld radios that have been distributed to reps in the West Seattle neighborhoods participating in the disaster-preparedness project):
All the Hubs in the WS Communcations Hub system were present and accounted for. Our next hub to come on line, Highland Park, came into the test late, but still checked in and was heard.
The GMRS repeater system worked great, everyone was able to receive all Hubs, from Fauntleroy to Alki. Signal strength was a little variable, as people were getting feedback about their transmissions and moved around to improve the signal. Under simulated conditions, each Hub requested different resources of the type that might be needed immediately following a disaster, including describing a serious, high priority situation, such as the collapse of a building. Hubs also exchanged information about what resources might have become available in their neighborhood and sought to match them up with needs in other locations.
This test placed high demands on each Hub coordinator, as they had to physically set up their Hub location and manage all the radio traffic, and everyone performed at an outstanding level. During the debrief, several people said they attracted concerned attention as they were overheard reporting a fire or gas leak according to their test script, and some used the opportunity to let their neighbors know about the Emergency Communication Hub concept and about the drill, much to the relief of the visitors. All in all, an extremely successful test!
You can find your nearest Hub on this site – they’re spots set up for people to gather to coordinate information and help if disaster strikes and other means of communication don’t work.
This site among many others has had contentious car vs. bike discussions – and over the years of course the “road rage” of car vs. car erupts from time to time – but this is one of the first “bike vs. bike” clashes we’ve heard: Longtime WSBer Todd in Westwood tells the story:
(Sunday), wife, 5 y.o. daughter and I decided to get the bikes out and take them down to Alki, as this may be the last nice Sunday in a while. We parked down by the 7-11 on Alki Ave and rode around Jack Block Park, then off to the beach.
I had daughter on the “trailer bike” attatched to my bike with wife behind us. We had jsut passed Anchor Park, when a very angry “LEFT” was yelled at me, then “!!!LEFT!!!” again. I was passing pedestrians and with the trailer bike, it isn’t very easy to make quick moves in either direction. The NOW extremely angry road bike yells “I said LEFT” then passes me on the left and punches me, luckily he got me in the upper arm instead of the face. This in turn almost made me crash. I stopped to process what had just happened, now daughter is scared and crying. I yell back at him telling him I am calling 911 to report it, he yells back ” F__K YOU, A__ h__e”, So we found an officer down the beach and made out a report. He will be charged with misdemeanor assault. But he is nowhere to be found.
We walk the bikes down the beach to get coffee, run into some friends and lo and behold, jerk man rides by. I follow him and call 911. They caught the dude and he will be charged. I don’t know what happened to him next. I heard him tell the officer he didn’t have i.d., should be interesting. A couple then stops us on the beach to tell us they had witnessed the whole ordeal and are willing to help. (Thank you so much, folks! )
Let’s hope justice can prevail and at least show my daughter that the bad guys get caught.
(This also was posted in the WSB Forums.)
Carrie Ann encountered someone she describes as “questionable” by her West Seattle home this morning, and wondered if he were legit – read on:Read More
YET MORE ON THE JUNCTION QFC: Checking in with regional spokesperson Kristin Maas this afternoon, she reconfirmed next Wednesday’s opening date for the store in Capco Plaza (42nd/Alaska), and noted it’ll kick off with a 7 am ribbon-cutting ceremony that day (so if you ever wanted to be among the first to shop a brand-new grocery store, be there!). Store hours: Round the clock. We’re expecting a fact sheet a bit later and will add it here, in case you have any other questions about what the store will offer.
SHOREMONT ON ALKI: There’s an update on this vacant building (2464 Alki SW), slated for eventual demolition, which had been the subject of an emergency city order because it was open to the elements (and potentially transients) – AlkiNews.com reports it’s boarded up. The city’s online records say the site failed an inspection in late August after the emergency order was “served.”
WESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: This community group has scheduled its first meeting in months, and you’re invited – 7 pm September 24th, Southwest Community Center (2801 SW Thistle), bring a dessert to share. Here’s the flyer outlining some of what’ll be discussed.
From tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting:
SOUTH BRACE POINT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Spokesperson Mark Johnson told FCA leaders this new group formed last month; 7 members came to FCA tonight to get acquainted. While they acknowledge that Brace Point (map) is part of the greater Fauntleroy area, they want to advocate for certain neighborhood-specific issues, such as traffic safety along 50th SW and the part-private/part-public pedestrian trail connecting 50th and Fauntleroy. They’re researching whether to make the path more uniformly accessible, and also looking into possible improvements to some of the neighborhood staircases.
ROAD/SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS? FCA’s Vlad Oustimovitch is working on a proposal for SDOT regarding some areas that need to be fixed up, in the Endolyne vicinity, including the commercial “triangle” area and sidewalks near Canine Casa.
FAUNTLEROY FALL FESTIVAL: Everything’s on schedule as festival preparations continue; the big day is Sunday, October 18th. Watch the FCA website and Facebook page for more info as it gets closer.
Fauntleroy Community Association’s meetings are usually the 2nd Tuesday, 7 pm, in the old schoolhouse.
Kacy started her e-mail with an attention-grabbing line: “The Seattle Fire Department was here this morning.” She proceeded to clarify … “for a *good* reason.” 
Which it certainly was. She has a hearing-challenged child, and therefore qualified for a free smoke detector: “For the first time in his life, when my son is in bed without his hearing gear, is now aware that the smoke detector is going off. How cool is that?!” Smoke detectors that are “either strobe lights or shakers,” as Kacy explains it, are available through an SFD program that serves deaf/hard-of-hearing people within the Seattle city limits. Education coordinator Bill Mace invited Kacy to share that info with anyone who might benefit, and she in turn asked us to help spread the word. Contact Bill at 206-386-1337 or william.mace@seattle.gov – see what the city website says about this program here.
Before we get to the reports that have come in over the holiday weekend, the prevention info: In the photo, that’s Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow. If you’re interested in setting up a Block Watch, or getting more information about prevention, he’s the guy you contact. We photographed him at a home in the southeastern corner of Gatewood last week; he was there at the request of neighbors who were concerned about burglaries in the area. He stressed that one powerful way to deter crime is for neighbors to know each other; being aware of what’s usual on your block helps you notice more quickly something that’s not. He also walked neighbors through making a map of their block with the names and addresses of residents clearly marked on the map. He said people need to give their neighbors permission to watch each others’ homes. You can contact him, to find out about Block Watch and/or neighborhood presentations, through the info on this page; you can also peruse prevention advice here. Meantime, we have reports of two car break-ins and a scooter theft, from three different West Seattle neighborhoods, ahead:Read More
Important information for you to make sure your kids are aware of – all detailed here, published today.
Followup to last night’s story on North Delridge neighbors mobilizing after reports of a woman being raped early Saturday in the Greg Davis Park area: We just talked with Lt. Von Levandowski of the Southwest Precinct. He says this is being investigated as a case of “acquaintance rape, which is still bad … but we don’t believe there is a predator out there.” He says the woman had gone to the area with the person who allegedly raped her; after she went to the nearby gas station/convenience store for help, she was taken to the hospital for the care and examination that is routine in reported rape cases. Lt. Levandowski says officers “processed the scene” and obtained evidence, and while no one has been arrested yet, he says they have “a lead on a suspect.”
Info-packed meeting Thursday night for the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition, one of West Seattle’s two crime-and-safety-focused groups (the other is the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council). From crime trends in the area (southeast West Seattle plus north White Center) — including a crime police are hoping more victims will report — to what can be done about problem properties, here are the highlights —Read More
The server-management company for partner site White Center Now is doing emergency maintenance so that site’s offline – there are two significant stories mostly of White Center import that we want to note here in the meantime: First, King County Council Chair Dow Constantine says Evergreen Pool in White Center (map) will close on September 1st – its temporary reprieve is ending and a deal with a private operator to take it over (WhiteWater Aquatics, which made a presentation at the last meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council) is not done yet, though talks continue, and, he says, “I am confident that a long-term agreement can be negotiated between King County Parks and White Water Aquatics and I will be working to facilitate the reopening of the Evergreen Pool as soon as possible.. Second: Hicks Lake, which is at Lakewood Park in White Center (map), has a toxic algae bloom, according to county spokesperson Doug Williams, who says:
We just got results back from the state Department of Ecology that confirms a blue-green algae bloom at Hicks has surpassed the safety threshold. While there aren’t likely too many people swimming there right now, it’s possible that people could let their dogs swim and/or drink from the lake. Not a good idea!
Williams says they have posted warning signs, and those signs will stay up until two consecutive weekly samples show the water’s safe again.
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen calls this to our attention – and yours: The elimination — scheduled to take effect today — of four particular positions in the state Department of Corrections has him and his colleagues worried about the effect on local crime/safety. 
If you think that department only works with the state prison system, think again: For just one example, there are DOC officers who partner with local police, hitting the street to track down wanted criminals with arrest warrants. (So many times, when we receive “what are police doing on my street?” questions, the answer turns out to be “warrant service.”) In this specific case, according to a letter signed by the Seattle City Council as well as Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and leaders of other cities around the county (plus other law-enforcement agencies, while none of the four positions to be cut in the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative is West Seattle-specific, the cuts do include one position assigned to the King County Sheriff’s Office and created specifically after the murder in White Center of KCSO Deputy Steve Cox (whose killer was under DOC supervision at the time). Here’s an excerpt of the letter:
The cuts would adversely impact our region’s ability to capture wanted felons, to monitor offenders in our communities on DOC-supervised release, and to provide hands-on personal assistance to DOC-supervised individuals who require housing, detoxification services, medical care, social services, and crisis intervention and support in order to stay out of trouble and risk reoffending.
Many DOC-supervised individuals engage in stranger-on-stranger violence to maintain their drug and alcohol addictions; they significantly contribute to social disorder in more densely populated areas due to aggressive panhandling and anti-social behavior associated with mental illness and chemical dependency. As a result, residents are rightly worried about their personal safety. They seek our help to protect them.
Read the full letter here; read more about state DOC budget-cut implementation here. Councilmember Rasmussen says he and Councilmember Tim Burgess, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, developed the letter and believe, “For the sake of the safety of our communities whether they are Bellevue, Shoreline, Seattle or White Center, we need these positions to be able to capture suspects and to ensure that offenders are being effectively supervised by the Department of Corrections.” We are checking with the governor’s office to get reaction to the city leaders’ letter and to see if there is any chance the positions will be restored. If you want to share a comment with the governor (on this issue or anything else), here’s how. 12:55 PM UPDATE: A spokesperson for the governor says she’s been out of town and they’re not sure if she’s seen the letter yet but they’re checking.
The latest West Seattle Crime Watch reports we’ve received involve three cars, three neighborhoods around the peninsula, from Admiral all the way south almost to White Center — one broken into, one tagged, and one stolen while its owner was moving, with a precious family keepsake now gone – read on for details (and prevention info, too):Read More
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