July 2011

Because our transit system depends on the sales tax, it is devastated by the recession. 400,000 people use transit every day, 53 percent for work or school/college. The devastating reduction to transit, which we are facing will nearly cripple us and will certainly delay or derail our recovery.

There is a plan, which will lessen the cuts: to raise funds from a $20 fee on car registrations, for 2 years only. We need to get this passed in the King County Council on July 25. Sadly, some of our King County Council members feel that transit is not very important.

Please help! Contact your King County councilmember and say that transit service is very important to you personally and to life and function in our community.
Imogene Williams

Bette Reed
Seattle

I lost my beloved Elsbeth on July 2.
She was a remarkable and loving woman. She was not only a wonderful wife and mother but also of tremendous assistance in the family business.

This is a very difficult period for me but life must go on.

Here's some thoughts I've been having about Burien's possible annexation of White Center:

I don't think Seattle ever wanted to annex White Center but was playing a poker game with Burien. King County officials tried for years to get Seattle or Burien to annex the territory from Roxbury Street, Seattle's city limits.

It was no secret. County officials led by the Executive Ron Sims felt it was a servicing cost that it wanted to push on to Burien or Seattle. Seattle is still playing games pretending like it wants to annex out to the Burien city limits.

Can Burien offer advantages to the citizens of the territory? It would mean being responsible for fire stations, police, roads and parks and playfields and permitting for businesses. Water and sewer service would remain under existing control.

When Westside School moved to their new home in the E.C. Hughes building they had to leave behind four modular school buildings they had added during their growth process, back when they shared a building with Explorer West.

On July 5 they moved those portable/modular units, with one moving at night due to its size and they are now in place on the south part of the campus. Plumbing trenches were dug and the electrical has been hooked up and they should be operational by the first week of August when school starts at Westside.

They acquired the first of the units in 1999 for pre-school and kindergarten classed and the next in 2005 to accommodate their library plus music and art. Then two more were added over the ensuing years.

There are two classrooms in each units for 18 to 20 students.

The early childhood center has a kitchen and laundry facility as well.

Williams Scotsman, who built the units also handled the move.

The school also made improvements to its stage with new lighting and backstage upgrades.

UPDATE at 4:53 pm: WSDOT reports that the truck is now moving after blocking traffic for an hour and a half. Bridge is now open. But Metro reports Westbound lanes on S Spokane St & 4 Av S are closed, due to a blockage until further notice.

Original Post
Seattle Department of Transportation posted that the West Seattle Bridge westbound has been temporarily closed due to a semi-truck losing its back wheels.

It is blocking all lanes.

No traffic cam images show the scene.

It is near the SR 99 viaduct and cars are backing up, with Highway 99 and other streets backing up.

No word as yet as to when the incident will be cleared.

Blue James bashed three home runs and a triple and Jackson Chilcott threw three no-hit innings to lead West Seattle to a 12-0 District 7 Major Little League victory over South Highline National on Wednesday, July 6.

West Seattle advances to a 6 p.m. final Friday, July 8 against the winner of Thursday's consolation bracket final between South Highline National and Rainier District.

The action is being hosted by West Seattle at its recently refurbished two-field ballpark above Alki Point.
James hit three solo home runs and a leadoff triple, leaving an impression on West Seattle manager John Coats.

"He went into the game really loose tonight," said Coats. "He put on a clinic. We were hoping for that."

Chilcott -- who hit a mere 2-for-3 with a home run and a double -- walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the first and struck out the next three. He did not allow any base runners in the second and third and finished with six strikeouts.

"Big Jack, he came out and found his groove," said Coats of Chilcott. "He was hitting his spots."

Early fireworks enabled South Highline National to sizzle in a 16-3 championship round game victory against Pac West in the 2011 Washington State District 7 Little League baseball 9-10 age All-Star tournament.

Avoiding the conditional championship game by remaining unbeaten, National earned the right to play in the state tournament scheduled for opening on July 16 against District 8 in a 3 p.m. game at Redmond's Hartman Park.

"It was great to start off that way," said National manager Tim Fenster. "It really made a difference. Everyone's eyes got bigger and everyone was positive. Ryan Bigelow cleared the bases in the first inning and had two runs batted in during the second inning."

The Normandy Park aggregation quickly dropped Pac West into a deep pit with seven runs scored in the top of the first inning on its way to the dominating win.

Opening walks to Teddy Covich and Trevor Morine set Christopher Mills to the plate. With the count 1-1, Mills pulled a pitch high and deep over the left field fence, sending South Highline into a 3-0 lead. SHN kept working to pour four additional runs across the plate.

Press release:
A low-flying helicopter will gather radiological readings this summer around Puget Sound. The flights were taking place over West Seattle today.

Radiation detection equipment mounted in a helicopter will measure “gamma emitters” like cesium and radioactive iodine — materials that would likely increase in a radiation emergency. This kind of material releases X-rays, or gamma radiation, a type that can be easily measured from the helicopter. State radiation experts expect to find natural radioactivity and material produced by licensed radioactive material users such as hospitals.

The helicopter will fly a grid pattern at an altitude of about 300 feet to collect data. Mapping the normal amounts and location of radioactive material will provide a baseline for comparison to assess contamination if there were a nuclear incident like the events in Fukushima. Sampling in that area of Japan after the nuclear reactors were damaged produced radiation readings, but there was no baseline for comparison so it was unclear how much higher the levels had grown.

By Ty Swenson

KCSO Captain Joseph Hodgson said crime in North Highline/White Center over the last couple of months is a “good news/bad news scenario” during a North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting last week.

The good news, he said, is that (with the exception of residential burglaries and assaults) crime is down looking over an eight-month period.

Residential burglaries are up
“Generally, … things are down but we have seen a significant spike in residential burglaries," Capt. Hodgson said. "I talked to the detectives today … and right now there is very little information. They are doing their best to develop some evidence and trying to find something that points them in the right direction but right now there’s not much.”

“The typical MO on these has been to knock on a front door and upon getting no response kicking in the front door,” or going around back to gain entry.

Capt. Hodgson recommended turning on lights, a radio or TV to make it seem like someone is home and recommended cutting back landscaping so neighbors can see suspicious activity at a house.

Two wins over two days totaled up to the top prize for South Highline National at the District 7 Junior Little League tournament.

The Nationals topped Rainier District, 7-3, on Friday, July 8 in the first championship game, then needed another win in a 10 a.m. Saturday, July 9 if necessary game -- and got it in the form of a come-from-behind 17-10 win. That set National up for a 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16 state date in Arlington against the District 2 winner.

"We lost early in the tournament and came back," said South Highline National manager Grady Weckhorst of the action at the Rainier Playfield in the Rainier Valley area of Seattle. "We've had a good series with Rainier all year long. The kids were hungrier and just wanted to take it."

Weckhorst did not even look at the state tournament bracket until after the trip was in hand.

"Now I can look at the brackets, or I will when I get home," said Weckhorst.

Rainier jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the final game and the Nationals scored three for a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the frame.

The Design Review Board convenes today regarding two separate building proposals along NW 56th Street.

Starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittier Elementary School library, the board will hold an early design guidance meeting regarding 2034 NW 56th Street where two structures are proposed.

The proposal is for one, 20,000 square feet office and retail building as well as one 20-unit residential building with 46 below grade parking spaces.

The existing structure and surface parking to be demolished.
 

Neighbors are encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more about this project. At the early design guidance meeting, the applicants will present information about the site and vicinity.  The public may offer comments regarding the design and siting of a development on the subject site; and the Design Review Board members will also offer comments and identify those Citywide Design Guidelines of highest priority in developing the site.

See the detailed proposal, here.