July 2011

Two people, a man and woman were taken to Harborview Hospital on Monday July 4 after a fire broke out in a home at 10115 Marine View Drive at approximately 3:25 pm. 21 SFD units responded.

Incident Commander Ryan Hastings said, "They had small fire in their cellar. We had a couple of occupants of the home suffer from smoke inhalation and they both got taken to Harborview. The fire was confined to the room of origin and we're going to be investigating it here shortly when we get the investigators on the scene.

Marine View Drive was closed to through traffic.\

UPDATE:

According to the Seattle Fire Department

After interviewing the occupants and examining the scene, investigators concluded discarded smoking material on cardboard was to blame for the fire which began in the basement wine cellar.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW

North Admiral was sunny and celebratory as the 4th of July Kids Parade took off a bit after 10:00 a.m., circled around neighborhood streets, and landed in Hamilton Viewpoint Park for the traditional potato sack races, water balloon toss, mingling, and a line of over 90 people at the Popsicle stand.

Historically dressed "Lady Victoria", Rita Harris held a parasol with feathers to shade her from Seattle's intense sun.

"My wife Ginny started this parade with Pauline DeHart 17 years ago, we think," said Ginny's husband Bob Cane, a resident along the parade route on Sunset Ave. SW. "About 50 kids on our block were in the first parade, and it grew from there."

A young adult who said his name was Dennis climbed the Liberty statue on Alki late July 3 for a photo op, then leaped off.

Judge Paolo Micheli recused himself in the Perugia, Italy, courtroom today during what was to be the beginning of the libel case against West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox's parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, Arbor Heights residents. The case was adjourned until January, 2012.

The judge recused himself because of his involvement in the murder trial of Knox and boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito, and Rudy Guede. Micheli is the judge in charge of Ivory Coast-born Guede's first trial and he also was the judge who looked at Amanda's case and decided it warranted going to trial.

Police officers are suing Knox's parents for defamation for describing to a newspaper what Amanda told them about her treatment in her interrogation after her arrest in the murder of her college roommate, Meredith Kercher.

In a 2009 interview in the Sunday Times of London, the Curt and Edda said that Amanda had told them during her interrogation that she "had not been given an interpreter, had not received food and water, and had been physically and verbally abused". They were indicted in February for these statements to the Times of London.

press release:

This summer, discover all the ways you can leave the car at home and make walking, biking, taking the bus or sharing a ride part of your routine. White Center In Motion will provide you with maps and information, fun events and classes, and rewards for trying a new way to get around our neighborhood.

Meet our friendly outreach staff at upcoming events like our bicycle safety check-in, Music In the Plaza at Greenbridge, and White Center Jubilee Days.

Sign up for this free program online:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/MetroTransit/InMotion/Wh…

Once you sign up, you'll be eligible for rewards like free transit tickets and weely prize drawings donated by local merchants like Full Tilt Ice Cream, Alki Kayak Tours, Bicycles West, and Helsing Junction Farm. We can't wait to meet you and get In Motion together!

Questions? Contact the In Motion hotline at inmotion@kingcounty.gov or 206-296-3455.

PHOTOS by Brett Fish. Please click the photo above for more of Brett's pictures.

According to police, a man wanted on a state Department of Corrections escape warrant was captured by Normandy Park police on June 30.

Police pursued him down the Southwest Suburban Sewer District compost facility access road in Normandy Park. He jumped out of the car and jumped over a fence, chased by two officers.

The man was arrested by police and transported to the King County Jail in Seattle.

From Fish's perspective, here is how the event occurred:

Maybe a half hour after the Highline Forum meeting I got back to the "Fish House". I left half of the upper gate open. I heard sirens, really close by. The gate and driveway alarms were going off almost continuously so I finally poked my head out expecting birds or neighbors walking their dogs.

Four Normandy Park Police cars and 5 officers had a wanted felon they'd been looking for all day nailed at the lower SWSSD gate in handcuffs inside the closed district property which meant the bad guy and officer had to both jump the barbed wire fence. Wow, our Police in action! No injuries to either.

On this, the 235th celebration of our nation's declaration of independence, we want to remind our readers about the meaning of the day and for at least a few moments amid the BBQ's, summer fun and fireworks, remember that for hundreds of millions of people around the world America from it's very beginning, has been a beacon of freedom.

Our greatest national tradition began the day that Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence and what it has come to represent.

We are a quilt of many threads and our strength as a nation lies in our ability to overcome adversity, accept our differences and celebrate what freedom really means.

It means accepting the responsibility of defending it, of opposing oppression outside our country and eradicating bigotry, and hatred within it.

Freedom means living a life of responsible choice. That amazing gift, that fundamental, and fantastic human right codified by our forefathers is worth cherishing and celebrating.

Tonight, when you see the fireworks, where ever you are, we urge you to express your gratitude for your ability to live in the greatest nation on earth.

Around June 21 a foreign exchange student attending college and renting a house on the 9000 block of 14th Ave S.W. walked into the rental agency, dropped off his keys and calmly stated he was leaving – without notice. The rental agency informed the man he would lose his $550 deposit which didn’t faze him as he left without another word. Upon inspection of the house, the agency found the interior trashed. Two days later a man from the agency stopped by the house and discovered someone had pried open the front door and spray painted the walls and floors with “an extensive amount” of dollar sign graffiti ($) and other references to money (with white paint). An empty Chateau St. Michelle wine bottle and Crystal Geyser water bottle were all that remained of the unknown suspect’s visit. While the bottles were sent back to the lab for prints, the management company told police they would send over the ex-tenant’s information.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave S.W.
206 937 7169
50% OFF Storewide Sale during West Seattle’s annual SummerFest: Friday, July 8 thru Sunday, July 10. 50% OFF Men’s wear: Sundays in July. 50% OFF blue -tagged items: Friday, July 1 thru Wednesday, July 20. The American Cancer Society Discovery Shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, All other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

Bowl vs. Bowel to Benefit Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
West Seattle Bowl
4505 39th Ave. S.W.
206-932-3731
July 9, 6-8 p.m. Help fund research and treatment of Irritable Bowel Diseases. $20 per person. Raffle tickets $1 or 15 for $10. There will be raffle prizes, shot calls for prizes, great music, $2 jello shots, HighStrike Grill and welcoming staff. Come have a great time. Pre-register to insure your spot at WS Bowl; discounts if you register a team of 5. Contact Chris at ctroupe27@gmail.com and mention Crohn’s fundraiser.

Pancakes & Pirates Breakfast Kicks Off Seafair
Alki Bathhouse
2701 Alki Ave. S.W.

UPDATE:

Two bicyclists were riding near a pick-up truck on the 5200 block of California Ave. and words were exchanged among the cyclists and truck driver.

Two witnesses told the West Seattle Herald that it initially appeared that the bike riders were friends with the truck driver because they were all conversing and at one point one cyclist grabbed the truck bed. Then an argument ensued and police arrived. One witness believes the bicyclist hit the truck which provoked the incident.

We will update.