February 2009

As part of the 2003 Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy, 11 fire stations across the city will be upgraded this year. West Seattle's fire station 37 will move to a brand new facility on 35th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Holden Street.

"Through the Fire Levy, neighborhood fire stations will be expanded and upgraded to accommodate modern-day fire fighting," said Seattle Fire Department Chief Gregory Dean in a press release. "The improvements will allow firefighters to protect lives and property in the city of Seattle both safely and efficiently."

The existing station 37 was built in 1925 and, like many other stations being upgraded across the city, is not large enough or seismically sound. It's age was one factor considered when the Fleets and Facilities determined which stations would be upgraded first.

Three hours after Kitty Harbor opened its doors Saturday, 55 kittens and cats found new homes. It was the beginning of the non-profit shelter's last open weekend until May 2 and there was an extra push. Over 250 people showed that morning.

Kitty Harbor, a self-standing building located just north of the Spokane Bridge on Harbor Avenue, is home base for the Animal Safe Haven Association, and is owned and operated by West Seattle resident Delyn Kosbab. A retired high-voltage electrician, she said she has rescued cats since she was 4 years old.

"I do a lot of hard cases, cats with viruses and other problems, get them well, and adopted." The shelter spays and neuters and the critters are checked carefully by veterinarians prior to adoption.

"I will only adopt to people who already have a cat or dog because a single kitten in a home often grows into a brat cat. We are a non-kill facility. Shelters do the best they can, but still the euthanization rate is high in general and I cannot emphasize enough that people need to focus on spaying and neutering their cats."

King County Metro Transit has finished collecting public input on the proposed bus route 50, potentially connecting a portion of Delridge Way to the Alaska Junction. Over the next month Metro will weigh public opinion and consider revising their proposal before a final recommendation is made to the King County Executive.

Route 50 was designed to connect Columbia City and Seward Park to Link light rail stations. The new bus would run from the Othello Link station through Seward Park, the Columbia City Link station, Veterans Administration Medical Center, SODO and Harbor Island to end in West Seattle.

Currently West Seattle residents only have one route, 128, that travels east to west through the neighborhood. The new route would create a new connection between both sides of 35th Avenue Southwest in the north end of the neighborhood.

If approved, the route is expected to operate at least every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday and at least once an hour after 7 p.m. on Sundays. Depending on available resources the route could even run as frequently as every 15 to 20 minutes.

The Capco Plaza project on Southwest Alaska Street and 42nd Avenue Southwest is moving forward as scheduled and both QFC and Office Depot, the project's main retail clients, could open as early as August.

The project will include a 40,000 square foot QFC grocery store and a 20,000 square foot Office Depot on 42nd Avenue as well as 157 housing units.

West Seattle residents seem eager for the development to be completed.

"Our neighborhood is very excited about that project," said Sharon Meeks of the Fairmount Community Association. "We're anxiously awaiting for them to open."

The residential units have been named the Altamira Apartments and will include studios, one to two bedroom units, and town homes, many which have already been pre-leased.

Developer Leon Capelouto ensures that the project includes adequate parking on site with three levels that include 365 spaces.

From the beginning of the design process Capelouto has said that the new development will bring synergy to the Alaska Junction and have a positive impact on existing business there.

Ernie Seevers has been appointed Sanislo Elementary School's new principlal for the 2009-2010 school year.

Seevers, an educator with 25 years experience, is currently in his fifth year as principal at AS #1, an alternative K-8 in Pinehurst.

Having worked with Seattle Public Schools for 15 years, Seevers has also been an educator in the Lake Washington and Tacoma school districts, teaching middle and high school math and science.

Seevers has a bachelor of science in middle school education with a concentration in math from North Georgia State College and a master's degree from Antioch University.

The principal announcements, which include nine others and were made by Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson and Chief Academic Officer Carla Santorno, are a direct or indirect result of the capacity management process, according to the district.

On Jan. 29, the Seattle School Board approved the final recommendations for capacity management, which closed several schools, including the Cooper Elementary program here.

The principal appointments will become effective July 1, 2009 and additional appointments will be announced in the coming months.

In the Feb. 4 issue of the West Seattle Herald ("Anti-tunnel initiative concerns some"), Dow Constantine was incorrectly referenced. He is the Chair of the King County Council. We regret the error.

Seniors can now lease apartments in the new housing complex Arrowhead Gardens to move in late this summer.

The campus has three residential buildings available to seniors. Bill Fenner, Executive Director of Senior Housing Assistance Group, describes the complex as an urban village.

"We're looking for a neighborhood feel, where people can be as active or inactive as they want," says Fenner.

Fenner is also enthusiastic about Aarowhead's many shared spaces, including a community building with a lounge, library, media center and exercise room. The campus also includes several courtyards, roof decks and "pea patch" planter boxes.

"The landscaping at Aarowhead is going to better than what we've had in a lot of other communities," says Fenner.

Some units offer views of the Cascade Mountains and the Seattle's skyline.

The community also offers transit vans and electric cars for local transportation.

Aarowhead Gardens is located in Highland Park and has convenient access to freeways and major retail centers.

In our Feb. 13, 2009 piece below we reported on Steve Bushaw, who was murdered outside Talarico's Lounge Feb. 1. Dan Donohoe, Press Secretary, King County Prosecuting Attorney's office, announced the arrest of the murder suspects:

Suspects Bryce Huber, 27; Brandon Chaney, 30; Danny O’Neal Jr., 28; and John Sylve, 32, were all arrested and charged in the King County Superior Court with First-Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Murder. Suspect Sylve was arrested early morning on December 1st in San Antonio, Texas, with the assistance of several agencies, including the U.S. Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. The other three suspects were arrested later on Dec. 1 in the Seattle area.

This is an active and on-going homicide investigation as detectives continue to receive new information and follow up on leads.

University of Washington student and West Seattle resident Amanda Knox and her former college boyfriend David Johnsrud agreed amicably to go separate ways in 2007. They each signed up as foreign exchange students. He went to China; she chose the Umbrian Hills of central Italy. Little did she know that her UW distance-learning language studies in German, Japanese, and, yes, Italian, would take place in the high-security Capanne jail and not in the historic halls of the University of Perugia campus as planned.

Knox may currently be West Seattle's most controversial resident, famous or infamous, depending on who, and what, you believe, due to the highly publicized trial implicating her and Italian boyfriend, Raffeale Sollecito in the Nov. 1, 2007 stabbing death of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia.

A third party, Rudy Guede, was convicted of that murder last October and sentenced to 30 years.

As Congress considers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is right that an investment in arts and culture be included in the package.

The currently proposed $50 million designated to bolster the NEA's budget will certainly be channeled to working artists and arts organizations throughout the country. While I appreciate the heart and soul impact the arts have on me as an individual and the role they play on building the character of my community, the real power of including arts in the economic stimulus package is the number of jobs it can preserve and create nationally and in our state.

Nationally, there are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10 percent of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and operas to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 - a loss of 260,000 jobs.