October 2016

By Shane Harms

The issue of homelessness in Seattle has been coming to a head as both the Seattle Mayor's office and the Seattle City Council have grappled with how to deal with homeless encampments. The recent clearing of the "Jungle" an area under Interstate 5 near Airport Way South resulting in the death of a homeless man when he was shot in an altercation with Seattle Police. Media reports on homeless people camping out on playfields, near schools and in other public lands leaving behind refuse, human waste and syringes have raised the ire of the public and officials who have yet to come to a satisfactory way forward with this complex problem.

The Seattle City Council held a committee meeting Oct 14 to discuss enacting Council Bill 118794, the bill that would allow homeless people to camp in over 5,200 acres of city parks and greenbelts.

Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw wrote different versions of the bill for consideration. The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Columbia Legal Services drafted the original bill.

UPDATE 11:47pm
A pocket of power loss totaling 86 customers remains just east of Madison Middle School. City Light estimates a 1:23am restoration time.

UPDATE 6:45
While power is back for thousands some pockets of power outage remain. 130 customers are without electricity above Alki Beach near Hughes Ave, and Hobart Avenues SW. Another 86 are without power near Madison Middle School. City Light estimates a 1am fix for the problem.

Original Post
The steady winds plus gusts of the current storm system blowing through our area finally knocked out power for West Seattle customers as more than 4600 in three locations were affected.

The areas affected were largely west of California Ave in the Admiral District with 4444 out. Another area was just east of Lincoln Park with 117 out and yet another was in Highland Park with 72 homes affected.
City Light estimates a 5:45pm restoration of service.
If you have power or an internet ready mobile device you can monitor the City Light System status here:

http://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/

By Greg Whittaker

We live in a magical place to explore if you take the time to get out of the work-a-day world and get out into our regional playground. Those of us who have been lucky enough to grow up here and to have families that ski and snowboard know that winter is a special time in Washington. You can spend a day up in the deep snow of the Cascades or Olympics, and come home to the green of the Puget Sound region. This really makes the trip to the slopes seem a lot further than it actually is.

Kids who are presented the skills to be confident in the mountains are given a gift to be used for a lifetime. To be able to confidently rip down some of the steepest alpine terrain in the US is something that very few humans are presented with, and the associated skills of driving in gnarly conditions, navigating in no visibility, and knowing how to stay warm when in inclement weather is upon us, harkens back to times when screens were not the entertainment method of choice.

UPDATE 11:30am
Number without power now down to 855 with power in the Burien area now restored. Areas east of 509 north of Burien are still without electricity.

Original Post
High winds on Friday knocked out power for nearly 4000 Seattle City Light customers in an area stretching from Burien to close to South Park. The outage began at 9:42am.

The southern edge of the outage is from 149th near Seahurst Park then along SW 144th PL extending east to 1st Ave. South in Burien then crossing Highway 509 near South 136th and then north in a swath and pockets up to near South Park.

City Light estimates restoration around 1pm.

If you have power or are using a mobile device you can check the City Light system status (though the results reported on the page are sometimes delayed) here
http://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/

High winds on Friday knocked out power for nearly 4000 Seattle City Light customers in an area stretching from Burien to close to South Park. The outage began at 9:42am.

The southern edge of the outage is from 149th near Seahurst Park then along SW 144th PL extending east to 1st Ave. South in Burien then crossing Highway 509 near South 136th and then north in a swath and pockets up to near South Park.

City Light estimates restoration around 1pm.

If you have power or are using a mobile device you can check the City Light system status (though the results reported on the page are sometimes delayed) here
http://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/

The victims of the extensive fire at the Lam Bow Apartments on Delridge Way SW recently managed to escape with their lives. All of the residents have new homes now but fled the fire with nothing.

The Biella Foundation, a small local family foundation, made a $10,000 donation to the Lam Bow Fire Relief Fund. In addition to their initial donation, the Biella Foundation has pledged up to $10,000 more in matching funds to help inspire others to give to this effort.

Approximately $3,000 has been donated to the Fund at this time, leaving $7,000 un-matched. The Biella Foundation is providing a matching funds opportunity in which their gifts will be doubled.

Financial contributions to the Fund will help the victims replace furniture, household items, clothing and shoes, strollers and cribs, personal documents, school supplies, food and other necessities.

Donations are tax deductible and will go directly to the fire victims through SHA’s Campus of Learners Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 organization.

To donate online, visit www.seattlehousing.org.

by Lindsay Peyton
Before Washington legislators gather for session in Olympia in January, the City of Burien has some legwork to do.

To ensure that the city’s top priorities are understood by representatives, council members and staff plan to meet with elected representatives in November and December.

During their discussions, a legislative agenda is adopted annually to set priorities and goals.

Mike Doubleday, the city’s federal lobbyist, and Jennifer Ziegler, state government relations, presented the plan during the council’s regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 3.

“We had a short legislative session last year,” Ziegler said. “There’s been an enormous amount of interim activities underway and a significant amount for work on a multitude of issues.”

She added that the 2017 legislative session is a biennial budget year.

“The state is under a contempt order from the state supreme court for failure to fund basic education,” she said. “We expect a huge amount of time spent talking about education.”

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Junction Neighbors Organization (JuNO), Hope Lutheran Church, West Seattle Be Prepared, supporting local businesses and the City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund, a new Seattle Emergency Communications Hub will open at Hope Lutheran Church on Oct. 23.

Please stop by to learn more about how to prepare for emergencies, what the hub will do in the event of a disaster and how you can be a volunteer to help others at the hub.

Grand Opening Seattle Emergency Hub at Alaska Junction / Hope Lutheran Church
Sunday, Oct 23, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
Location: Hope Lutheran Church, 4456 42nd Ave SW, with information tables in the Hope Lutheran Church parking lot, at the corner of 42nd Ave. SW and Oregon Street.

For more information, contact Cindi Barker, cindilbarker@gmail.com, 206-933-6968 or visit the West Seattle Be Prepared website at http://westseattlebeprepared.org/

Due to the severe weather forecast for this coming Saturday, and out of an abundance of caution, the Crown Hill / Whittier Heights Find It, Fix It Community Walk originally scheduled for October 15, 12:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. has been postponed.

This decision was driven by public safety concerns and the need for City staff to be available for potential emergency response efforts.

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods will update the public when a new date for the walk has been determined.

For more information on the Find It, Fix It Community Walks program, contact Lemmis Stephens at 206.386.1907 or lemmis.stephens@seattle.gov or visitwww.seattle.gov/finditfixit.

By Lindsay Peyton

Burien resident Mary E. Diederichs has her sights set on Hollywood – and she has hit her stride, moving toward her dream.

A woman of multiple talents, Diederichs has been steadily establishing herself in Seattle’s performing arts and film scene.

She splits her time between filming television commercials, teaching dance and voice lessons, doing voiceovers, working on movie sets and leading corporate team-building exercises. In her free time, she is writing a script for a television show.

“I get to go all over the place, and I find it fascinating,” she said. “I really love what I do. I have a good time.”

Diederichs remembers watching Cher on television as a kid growing up in Shoreline and thinking, “I want that job.”

“I started out as a dancer, but even as a kid, my vision was to be a general entertainer, like Shirley McLaine, who could dance, sing and act,” she said.

Diederichs vividly remembers seeing her first ballet. The dance was broadcasted on PBS – and her mother was sitting behind her.

“I literally pointed to the TV and said, ‘Mom, I want to do that,’” Diederichs recalled.