August 2015

With more than 22,000 locations around the world Starbucks is seemingly everywhere. But until Aug. 14, the one place our hometown coffee giant had no presence was in the heart of West Seattle in the Junction.

The official opening of Store Number 248837 on Friday came without fanfare but not without a lot of attention. Locals had been popping in during last week asking about the opening and expressing excitement said the management team at the location. Starbucks now has five company operated and three licensed stores in West Seattle.

The 1500 square foot space on the southeast corner of the intersection has 22 full and part time employees will be open Monday through Friday from 5am to 10pm and 5:30 am Saturday and Sunday.

Seattle City Light has shut down the environmental remediation work at the homeless encampment site at 2826 NW Market Street in order to investigate the cause of the accidental power outage that occurred yesterday afternoon.

According to Scott Thompsen with Seattle City Light, work at the site is shut down until at least Tuesday as they investigates the accident.

“We are doing a full investigation into how and why the line was hit,” said Thompsen.

Yesterday Seattle City Light crews started digging into the topsoil of the site as part of the environmental remediation work needed to rid the site of contaminated soil. 18 inches of soil will be removed from the site.

Crews hit a an underground power conduit that ran under the site, which caused a widespread power outage that stretched from Eighth Avenue NW and Leary Way NW all the way to Golden Gardens and as far north as Sunset Hill.

Crisis Clinic is a resource for anyone in our community experiencing emotional distress or a mental health crisis, seeking treatment for substance abuse issues, and for individuals who are contemplating suicide. Services include:

24-Hour Crisis Line: Help line answered 24/7/365 for people dealing with any type of emotional distress including grief, trauma, anger, anxiety, depression, or thoughts of suicide. Callers may also be linked to other community resources as needed, including mental health counseling and/or emergency mental health services. (206) 461-3222 or 1-866-4CRISIS (427-4747)

WA Recovery Help Line: Statewide 24-hour help line for people struggling with mental health, substance abuse, or problem gambling. The service provides both emotional support and information/referrals to treatment options in the caller’s local area. 1-866-789-1511

Teen Link: A youth-answered help line for teens in need of emotional support or considering suicide. The service is available every night from 6pm – 10pm. During the day, youth have the option to speak with an adult on the WA Recovery Help Line or 24-Hour Crisis Line. 1-866-TEENLINK (833-6546)

By Shane Harms

At approximately 1p.m. today Seattle City Light crews struck a power line underneath the homeless encampment site on NW Market Street.

According to Seattle City Light, crews started the environmental remediation and were digging down into the soil when they struck a power line.

No one was injured, but the power outage affected 1800 residents in the Ballard area. The outage stretches from Eighth Avenue NW down to Leary Avenue Way NW all the way to Golden Gardens and north to Sunset Hill.

By Shane Harms

Mayor Ed Murray was not in attendance at the public meeting for the Ballard Homeless Encampment that was held last night at the Leif Erikson Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Where was he? He opted to attend the Grand Opening of Jet City Winery in Georgetown instead.

Hundreds of citizens showed up hoping to hear the mayor discuss the process for how the City decided on a location (NW Market Street, the main business street of Ballard) where they plan to construct a homeless encampment.

Deputy Mayor Kim was there instead of Mayor Murray to explain why the location that neighbors a liquor store, cannabis shop and tavern was the choice for the encampment.

When citizens heard the Mayor was not coming they booed and shouted at Deputy Mayor Kim. Some citizens even left the meeting. During the duration of the meeting citizens shouted “Where’s the mayor?” and “Where’s Murray?”

Update 1:10 p.m. August 14

Seattle Police have confirmed that the suicide victim was not actually deceased and that she will recover from her injuries.

She was rushed to Harborview Medical Center where her injuries were treated.

Seattle Police could not reveal the nature of her injuries.

Original post:

Earlier this morning Seattle Police received a report of a suicide at Golden Gardens.

Police and rescue crews were dispatched to the park around 10:30 a.m. where they discovered the body of a middle-aged woman up the shore from the beach. There was a suicide note found with the victim.

A witness told the Ballard News-Tribune that she was walking her dog on the beach northbound during low tide when she saw emergency personal carrying the deceased woman southbound on the beach. She said they came from further up the shore "around the bend" and could not see where the incident occurred.

Detective Patrick Michaud with SPD said that they received a call earlier this morning from someone looking for the victim.

A 58 unit studio apartment building with five parking spaces is proposed for construction at 4528 44th Ave SW and is up for a design review on Sept. 3

Project # 3019125 has been the subject of some legal wrangling as reported by Seattle P.I. in June. The P.I. reported that the developer of the project filed suit against the City of Seattle in an attempt to avoid "paying off low-income tenants currently living in a building slated for demolition."

The P.I. story explains that the developer contends that the tenants are not eligible for city-mandated relocation payments due to leases signed after the building was purchased. The developer maintains that the tenants must vacate because the lease will expire before the building is demolished.

MEETING

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2015

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: West Seattle Senior Center
4217 SW Oregon St
Hatten Hall

The West Seattle Herald's David Rosen witnessed a rollover accident today. Here is his first person account,

"I was traveling Southbound on Fauntleroy Way SW and noticed a silver car traveling northbound at a high rate of speed. The car was turning right on to SW Juneau and clipped the curb, hit the light pole, completely shearing it off the base and then rolled the car. I immediately pulled over and ran across the street to the overturned vehicle. As I approached the vehicle, the driver side door opened up and the young female driver crouched in the now open door and hopped out. She took off running northbound on 39th SW. I chased after her. Another witness was checking the car and noticed no one was in the car then noticed me chasing the female driver and joined me in the chase. We ran through people's yards. She bolted through a gated yard then I opened the gate and the other man in pursuit ran around through the alleyway and we encountered her in the street. The other man grabbed her and we sat her on the sidewalk until the fire department came as well as the Seattle Police. She was sent to Harborview Medical Center with unknown injuries."

Uneven road conditions along the 7000 block of Beach Dr. S.W., just north of the trail into Lincoln Park are the subject of an alert for bikers from King County.

The Murray Basin sewer project the road next to Lowman Beach Park could have loose gravel, pavement cuts, uneven surfaces, and steel plates on it for the next three months.

To protect public safety a number of vehicle and pedestrian restrictions are now in effect. Flaggers directing traffic around the site will ask bicyclists to walk their bikes through the area during work hours. Car access is limited to local residents and pedestrians are being directed to the western sidewalk around the work area.

This work is part of a King County project to build an underground storage tank that will keep sewage and stormwater out of Puget Sound during storms.

For more information, please contact the 24-hour construction hotline:
206-205-9186

At 3:45 p.m. this afternoon an undercover detective with the SeaTac Police Department noticed something wrong with a red Subaru as it passed him along Military Road: the driver was too small to see over the steering wheel.

Within six minutes of this sighting, and two damaged motor vehicles later, detectives would learn that this mini “Mad Max” was in fact an 11-year-old boy.

Backing up, just minutes before the detective spotted him, the young suspect had been walking along Military Road and explained to officers that he had desperately needed a ride somewhere (it is still unclear where he was going). As he was walking along he spotted a red Subaru Impreza parked on the side of the road.

The boy inspected the vehicle and managed to locate a hide-a-key in the under carriage.

Hopping in the car he made his way down the road in the residential area at speeds in excess of 45 miles per hour. Because he was too small to see over the front of the car the boy was jamming on the gas and pulling himself up by the steering wheel in order to get a view of the road.