June 2016

The Myers Way Parcels — 30+ acres of city-owned land on the Southeast edge of West Seattle — was acquired by the city, partly for the construction of the Joint Training Facility (JTF), according to the city. However, what exactly the city would do with all the parcels remained unknown. The latest the public heard about the parcels was in November 2015 when Mayor Ed Murray said that a portion of the proceeds from the purchase not identified for future city prospects nor for environmental protection would be directed toward emergency responsiveness to people experiencing homelessness. 

On May 25 however, the city finally unveiled a long-waited draft of recommendations for what the city would do with the land. The draft was announced at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting by two city finance and administrative services managers. Two weeks prior, a tour had been facilitated for community members, organized by City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. 

The draft recommendation includes plans for future city needs, financial consideration to loans and preservation of natural spaces.

Featuring excellent views and good ideas for those of us with health restrictions, this is the garden to visit on the 2016 Highline Garden Tour.

Beginning 40 years ago, this gardener has worked with a property that was initially a summer cottage with pasture and a few fruit tees. Now, one enters the property through a more formal setting of rhododendrons and azaleas, while the side and back yards are filled with perennials and row plantings, chosen for ease of access and care due to the gardener’s rheumatiod arthritis.. The backyard features the addition of a clever playhouse/potting shed, made from recycled materials from a Vashon Island artist.

The Highline Garden Tour is June 11th from 10 AM – 4 PM. Tickets are available at Burien Bark, Umpqua Bank, Wild Birds Unlimited and Furneys. For more information visit the Highline Historical Society website: www.highlinehistory.org

You’re not going to want to miss the Artist’s Reception on Friday, June 3 at the Burien Arts Gallery for the opening of Vancouver B.C. artist Josh Byer’s wildly colorful Faux Fauvism exhibit.

The reception is 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Gallery, 826 SW. 152nd St. in Olde Burien.

Josh describes Faux Fauvism as “capturing the moment immediately before a composition disintegrates into pure abstraction.”

The technique, inspired by Henri Matisse, celebrates elements of Fauvism, Cubism, Pointillism and street art.

The exhibit runs June 1-June 25.

Josh’s work has been displayed in Toronto and Los Angeles as well as on the cover of numerous publications.

The incredibly multi-talented and prolific artist has also earned extensive credits as a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, copywriter, journalist and author.

Also in June at the Burien Arts Gallery, Artists United presents a small works show of affordable art by over 20 local artists. The show will feature a variety of media, including oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, collage, photography, mixed media, fiber and colored pencil. All artwork will be less than 12 inches by 12 inches.

17-year-old shot near Evergreen High School
Officers from both the King County Sheriff’s Office and the Burien Police Department rushed to the intersection of Ambaum Boulevard S.W. and S.W. 116th Street on May 19 after reports of shots being fired. Police arrived to the intersection just after 12:15 a.m. to find a 17-year-old boy who had been shot in the chest outside of an apartment complex near Evergreen High School and Cascade Middle School. The boy was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Police are now looking for two Hispanic men who were seen fleeing the scene in a silver or gray 2000s sedan. Police used K9 units to search the area and though shell casings were found nearby, no suspects were found. Because of the victim’s minor status, further details have yet to be released. 

Des Moines man shot in online date ambush

Information provided by Seattle Police Department

Police recovered a stolen ATM from the backyard of a West Seattle home Tuesday after a thief in a pickup truck smashed his way into a college building and made off with a safe filled with cash.

Officers responded to South Seattle College in the 6000 block of 16th Avenue Southwest just before 2 AM after receiving reports of a break-in. At the scene, they found someone had broken through locked gate and driven a pickup truck through a glass door on campus to get to an ATM. After dismantling the cash machine, the thief loaded the ATM’s heavy-duty cash safe into their truck and fled.

Police found the unopened safe in the yard of a home in the 3900 block of Southwest 97th Street, where robbery detectives later detained and interviewed one male resident. Detectives released the man and continue to investigate the case.

Detectives are still looking for a white Chevrolet pickup truck with a crew cab, believed to have been used in the break-in at the college.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the SPD Southwest Precinct Burglary Unit at (206) 233-2623.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Semipro

Bears
The Highline Bears have a busy week of baseball ahead, starting with a visit to the Northwest Honkers at a time to be announced Wednesday.
Highline comes home to Mel Olson Stadium at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center on Friday, taking on Laces Baseball Club at 7:05 p.m.
The Bears then go to Edmonds Community College to play the NWCL Emeralds on Saturday and go to Everett Memorial Stadium to take on the Everett Merchants in a 1:05 p.m. twin bill Sunday. They drop in on the Snoqualmie Hurricanes at 6:15 p.m. Monday.

Pros

Sounders
Seattle visits D.C. United at 5 p.m. Wednesday in a game that will be televised on Channel 13.

Mariners
Seattle is in San Diego playing the Padres in a 7:10 p.m. game Wednesday and they will stay for 6:10 p.m. action Thursday.
Then it's off to Texas for a big three-game American League West series over the weekend.
The M's play the Rangers at 5:05 p.m. Friday, 6:05 p.m. Saturday and 12:35 p.m. Sunday.

If your neighborhood wants or plans to participate in this year’s 32nd Annual Night Out on August 2, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has a fund to support your event.

The Small Sparks Fund provides funding for neighborhood-initiated projects that promote community engagement and relationship building. Community groups can request up to $1000 to help fund Night Out activities such as outreach materials, cultural entertainment, music, food, and kids’ activities, to name a few. The deadline for applications is Friday, July 1 at 5:00 p.m., but you must register first in our web-based application system to apply.

For information on the application process, visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/smallsparks.htm or call 206-733-9916. The Small Sparks Fund is open to applications year-round for such activities as block parties, neighborhood sports tournaments, community picnics, and emergency preparation training, just to name a few.

Girls tennis
2A Singles
Ana Rios of Foster finished sixth in the Class 2A girls singles tournament, losing the match for third place to Luolana Sobrino of Liberty, 6-2, 6-4.
Rios opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Hunter Wilnovsky of Tumwater before defeating Annell Seaberg of North Kitsap, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
Rios then took a 6-3, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Catherine Michelutti of Squalicum in the semifinals to fall into the third place match.
The 2A tournaments took place at Seattle's Nordstrom Tennis Center.

2A Doubles
Stella Fosberg and Chloe Watson of Highline reached state in the 2A girls doubles competition but bowed out in the first round with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to the eventual champions from Sehome.

Boys tennis
2A Doubles
Finn Fosberg and Drew Sagmoen of Highline won their first state 2A doubles match before dropping the next two to miss out on placement.
Fosberg and Sagmoen won their opener, 6-4, 6-4, over Hudson's Bay before losing to two different Liberty teams, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-3, 6-4.

Golf
3A Boys

Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Tim Burgess today announced a proposal to prevent long-term rental units from being converted to short-term rentals, while still providing residents the flexibility to earn additional income by renting out their homes.

The measure focuses on commercial operators who use platforms, such as Airbnb and VRBO, to rent multiple properties year-round. Approximately 80 percent of existing short-term rentals in Seattle will see no new regulations.

“Property owners are shifting hundreds of homes from the long-term residential market to short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, and in doing so dangerously reduce our housing supply,” said Councilmember Burgess, chair of the Council’s Affordable Housing, Neighborhoods and Finance Committee. “At the same time, Seattle homeowners offering short-term rentals in their own homes earn valuable supplemental income. These proposed regulations focus narrowly on the commercial operators that take advantage of home-sharing platforms to exacerbate our housing crisis.”

When Lisa Richesson was eighteen she discovered she was pregnant and knew she was in trouble. It was 1969 and she was white; the father of her unborn baby was black. Civil rights had not yet reached the hearts and souls of Middle America, especially not as far as Lisa’s family was concerned. She made the heartbreaking decision to relinquish her bi-racial child for adoption. How she survives, has another bi-racial child and ultimately reunites with her first son will be shared as told in her book.

White Lady, Black Sons, a memoir of adoption, abuse and awakening, is debut author Lisa Richesson’s riveting memoir of loss, sorrow and survival while she never gave up hope of being reunited with the son she’d given up for adoption.

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society sponsors this free book-talk series on the 'First Friday' of each month. Lisa's presentation, the 33rd installment of the series, will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2016, at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village.