April 2016

Camping out in sports storage shed

Officers arrived at 9100 block of California Ave. SW. on the morning of Friday, April 8 to find a surprise in a wooden shed used to store baseball equipment for youth sports. Staff at the facility entered the structure to gather equipment earlier in the day – and noticed the doorframe had been broken and marks from tools were visible by the latch.

Hidden behind poles of plastic bins and canvas sacks was a makeshift bed, complete with pillows, blankets, two bottles of soda and litter from sacks. There was also a green duffle bag, two space heaters and a bag of rotting trash. Next to the shed, a large plastic container had been filled with a liquid that seemed to be urine.

The victims decided not to take further action. Instead they gathered the trespasser’s property and placed it out of the bin with a notice for him to stay area.

Retention pond rescue

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, April 16
Baseball
Olympic 2, West Seattle 0
West Seattle got to play at Safeco Field on Saturday, but came up on the short end of a 2-0 score in a non-league game against Olympic.
Kennedy 2, Mt. Rainier 0
Kennedy Catholic met Mount Rainier at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma on Saturday and beat the Rams by a 2-0 score.

Fastpitch softball
Forks 13, Evergreen 6
Forks outslugged the Wolverines in the first game of a double-header Saturday at Evergreen.
Forks 15, Evergreen 0
Forks also prevailed in Saturday's second game, only by a shutout score.

Friday, April 15
Baseball
Kennedy 21, Foster 0
The Lancers won big against the Bulldogs on Friday.
Highline 12, Renton 0
Highline routed Renton in Friday action.
Roosevelt 9, West Seattle 7
Roosevelt won a slugfest against the Wildcats on Friday.
Garfield 4, Chief Sealth 1
The Seahawks took a loss against Garfield.

Fastpitch softball
Mt. Rainier 6, Decatur 3
The Rams rallied for a victory against the Gators on Friday.

King County is holding an "information session" for neighbors and others in West Seattle on the progress and schedule for the Murray Basin CSO Project under construction at 7000 Beach Drive SW across from Lowman Beach Park.

They will have a tent across from the project site on Tuesday, April 26th to get answers to your questions about the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Project. Learn more about what to expect between now and project completion at the end of the year.

Tuesday, April 26th, 2016 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
7000 block of Beach Drive S.W.

About the Murray CSO Control Project
King County is building the Murray facility to keep polluted water out of the Puget Sound.
During big storms, King County’s sewer pipes can fill up. When this happens, sewage and stormwater must be released directly into the Puget Sound. The Murray tank will store the sewage and water until it can be cleaned at the treatment plant in Magnolia.

By Gwen Davis

It’s a story that speaks volumes to how many West Seattleites were never able to recover from the great recession.

West Seattle’s Vera Johnson, operator of the Village Green Perennial Nursery, has fought long and hard to retain control of her home, land and business near White Center at 10223 26th Ave SW.

However, as of this past week, she has given up the fight.

Johnson gained notoriety when Bank of America began foreclosure proceedings against her in 2011. Press coverage of her dilemma resulted in a new loan which Johnson maintains she faithfully made payments on. Her loan was later sold to Greentree Financial who now states that she has missed payments and has begun foreclosure proceedings against her again.

At first she chose to rejoin the fight, producing a web page, a video story on Vimeo and a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds. But Johnson announced via Facebook last week that she has given up that effort.

Her post reads:

Shortly after 8pm King County Sheriffs received a call of a shooting in the 200 blk of SW 148th in Burien.

According to police it is likely that two victims (male and female) saw some jewelry for sale on a website called OFFER UP. They contacted the seller who agreed to meet them at their house to show the jewelry.

The suspect arrived at the victims' house whereupon they struck a deal to buy the jewelry and gave the suspect cash. The suspect took the cash but kept they jewelry and attempted to leave.

The victims ran to the car and as the car took off the male suspect fired a shot and struck the male victim in the lower back. Non life threatening injuries. He was taken to Harborview. Shot victim is 42 years old. Suspect escaped.

Police said the shooter is a black male wearing all black clothing and has corn-rows. The suspect vehicle is an older grey or silver Monte Carlo.

Just after 7pm April 15 the King County Sheriff's responded to a motorcycle vs car accident on 1 Ave S near S136 St. According to police both vehicles were southbound on 1 Ave S.

in circumstances not fully understood the motorcycle and car collided and the motorcyclist went down. The motorcycle driver suffered a broken leg, broken jaw and possible head injuries. Alcohol is suspected on the part of the motorcycle driver. He was taken to Harborview.

Again we don't know what happened to cause the accident. The Major Accident Respond and Reconstruction detectives will conduct an investigation. Motorcyclist is a 34 year old man.
UPDATE 4/18/2016 from the King County Sheriff's Office:

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Thursday, April 14
Baseball
Seattle Lutheran 14, Muckleshoot 0
The Saints scored a convincing victory over the Muckleshoot Tribal School on Thursday.

Fastpitch softball
Evergreen 11, Lindbergh 9
The Wolverines outdistanced Lindbergh in a high-scoring game Thursday.
Blanchet 18, Highline 8
Highline was hammered in a non-league game.

Tennis
Mt. Rainier 5, Kentridge 0
The Rams swept the Chargers aside Thursday.
Foster 5, Sammamish 2
Foster felled the Totems in Thursday action.

Boys track
Kennedy 76, Renton 67
The Lancer boys team ran past Renton on Thursday.
Kennedy 110, Tyee 9
Kennedy Catholic won convincingly over the Totems this Thursday.
Kennedy 89, Evergreen 42
The Lancers also won when compared with the Wolverines.

Girls track
Renton 77, Kennedy 73
The Lancers were edged by the Indians on Thursday.
Kennedy 132, Tyee 9
Kennedy Catholic topped the Totems in Thursday's meet at Highline Memorial.
Kennedy 121, Evergreen 24
Kennedy dealt the Wolverines a defeat Thursday.

information from WSDOT

Drivers and transit users, pay heed: there are 14 days to get ready for a closure of the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct through downtown Seattle. Starting Friday, April 29, the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the viaduct between South Spokane Street and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel.

This closure is expected to start prior to the morning commute and last approximately two weeks as the SR 99 tunneling machine Bertha digs underneath the roadway near Yesler Way.

Roughly 90,000 vehicles use the viaduct each day. Because the structure is one of three major north/south highways in the greater Seattle area, WSDOT expects this closure to have a significant effect on the region’s commute.

“When we closed the viaduct for nine days in 2011, we saw significant congestion on Seattle city streets and nearby highways,” said David Sowers, deputy administrator of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. “We’ll do everything we can to ease congestion, but unfortunately there’s no way to close a major highway without disrupting traffic.”

by Michele Smith
Robinson Newspapers

On April 4 the Burien City Council voted down an amendment to extend the contract for Burien’s Animal Control program (C.A.R.E.S.) until Jan. 31 2017.
The current contract is set to expire on Aug. 31 2016 and may leave Burien without animal control services as the contract has not been put out to bid ad it is yet not clear whether King County Regional Animal Services could take on Burien. No other plans exists at this time.
At the heart of the issue, according to council member Lauren Berkowitz, is not only the contract extension process but also community concerns and regret for letting King County Regional Animal Services go. “I am not opposed to extending it; I'm opposed to what amounts to action through inaction - staying with C.A.R.E.S. merely because we've extended the contract so long that it's a problem to end the contract. My door-to-door anecdotes tell me that many residents lament leaving King County.” Berkowitz said.

by Adriane Vetter

In a tiny office, lit like an old movie from the days of Gary Cooper and Tyrone Power (if those movies had been in color instead of black and white), two people play a game of cat and mouse in the days after Lenin, leading up to the dictatorship of Josef Stalin.  Lighting designer Craig Orsinger has done his homework, making the sparse set (designed by Maggie Larrick) authentic enough so that one feels as
if this edge of the seat drama is indeed an old movie from Hollywood's Golden Age.  And director Beau M.K. Pritchard has created an aura of tension that never lets up, setting the audience up for the dynamic ending.

Played with wire taut precision, actors Michael Mendonsa (who plays 'The Director', a man at once engaging and menacing) and Devin Rodger (who plays 'Anna', a timid woman, who is also fiercely
confrontational and delightfully logical) kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering where this drama
would end up.  The two play well off each other, as what seems like a simple matter of question and answer by Mendonsa's 'Director', quickly turns into a terrifying interrogation and accusations begin to